many countries with low access rates also have large disparities in access between urban and rural areas while per cent of urban residents in cambodia had access to electricity in this was the case for only per cent of rural residents solid fuels such as wood and other types of biomass is the primary source of energy for four out of five people per cent in low income countries nearly two thirds per cent of people in lower middleincome countries and more than a third per cent of people living in upper middleincome countries this situation is caused largely by the unreliability and lack of affordability of electricity services in some places however people find that cooking with traditional fuels and technology makes the food taste better