Focusing on the sustainable livelihoods of rural households and regional sustainable development, this research takes Yan'an at the upper reaches of Yellow River and Zhaotong at mid-upper reaches of the Yangtze River as the study areas, extracts the central affecting factors of energy consumption and characteristic indexes of energy zoning based on 1560 rural household questionnaires of 85 villages in 4 counties (districts) and database analysis of socio-economic development, conducts energy zoning for the poor areas in China, and puts forward specific supporting policies for each type of zone. The research finds that (1) the study areas are found to have the following energy consumption characteristics: low per capita energy consumption (merely 1/4 of the national average), with energy consumption for non-production purposes taking up the main part (more than 70%), high proportion of non-commercial energy, i.e. firewood, straw, etc. (more than 45%), low utilization rate of such new energy resources as biogas, solar energy, etc. (lower than 2% in high mountain regions), remarkable differentiation of vertical and horizontal zonality, etc. (2) Physical conditions like temperature and topography, socio-economic factors, i.e. income of rural households, energy endowment, transportation conditions, and institutional factors like policy support are the major affecting factors of energy consumption and characteristic indexes of energy policy zoning. (3) According to the characteristic index evaluation and matrix classification of both the suitability for energy development and types of regional energy endowment, the poor areas in China can be divided into three energy policy-oriented zones, i.e. network-based centralized energy supply zone, diversified energy utilization zone, and new energy utilization zone. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.