Does Reform of Energy Sector Networks Improve Access for the Poor?
Unless energy can be produced and delivered more cheaply, it will stay beyond the reach of many of the poor. For energy delivered through networks, the costs that matter are not only the unit energy costs, but the costs of extending the network--in...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Viewpoint |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/05/729346/reform-energy-sector-networks-improve-access-poor http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11431 |
| Summary: | Unless energy can be produced and
delivered more cheaply, it will stay beyond the reach of
many of the poor. For energy delivered through networks, the
costs that matter are not only the unit energy costs, but
the costs of extending the network--into an urban slum, for
example, or to a rural town. Extending a network can be very
expensive--a major barrier to access for poor households and
small or isolated communitieds. A central goal of the reform
of electricity and gas networks, now occurring in an
increasing number of developed and developing countries, is
to provide incentives to reduce the costs of producing
energy and getting it to consumers. New technologies in
electricity are drastically reducing costs. But transmission
costs are still a major hurdle to expanding networks in
isolated or lightly populated areas. As a result it is the
urban poor who stand the greatest chance of benefiting from
network reform. For the rural poor, alternative solutions,
including mini-grid and off-grid services, may be required. |
|---|