Why is Household Electricity Uptake Low in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest in the world, although a larger proportion of the population lives under the grid. This demand-side challenge is likely to be exacerbated with the grid expansion as the areas currently o_-gr...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/131801577177846523/Why-is-Household-Electricity-Uptake-Low-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33109 |
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okr-10986-331092021-05-25T09:31:26Z Why is Household Electricity Uptake Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? Blimpo, Moussa P. Postepska, Agnieszka ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY POWER GRID RURAL ELECTRIFICATION POVERTY Access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest in the world, although a larger proportion of the population lives under the grid. This demand-side challenge is likely to be exacerbated with the grid expansion as the areas currently o_-grid are disproportionately more rural and poorer. This paper uses the most recent individual and household level data to examine the determinants of, and barriers to, electricity uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa. It supplements the analysis with qualitative fieldwork in three countries. Regarding the areas under the electricity grid, the paper follows Wodon et al. (2009) to show that demand-side constraints to a large extent explain the low level of electricity access and then proceed to identify the factors that drive uptake both at an individual and community level. Findings suggest that while the level of income remains a primary and consistent driver of uptake, regularity and predictability of income is a key constraint. Additionally, housing quality, independently of the variation in their socio-economic status is a significant determinant of uptake. To extrapolate on the determinant of uptake in areas currently off-grid, shall the grid be extended to those areas, we use Heckman (1976) two stages estimation procedure and several control variables to address selection bias. The analysis reveals that targeting communities that already enjoy higher economic livelihood or communities in which the provision of electrification is likely to induce economic activities is key to achieving high take-up rates and contribute toward the financial viability of the utilities and the sector. Policies such as pre-paid meters, energy-efficient appliance, credit access will address some of the specific constraints. However, the desire for productive use emerging from the qualitative work suggests that electrification efforts may be more successful if bundled with facilities for household to acquire appliances for productive use which has the potential to increase uptake and enhance livelihoods simultaneously. 2019-12-27T20:02:48Z 2019-12-27T20:02:48Z 2017-10 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/131801577177846523/Why-is-Household-Electricity-Uptake-Low-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33109 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Working Paper Africa Sub-Saharan Africa |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY POWER GRID RURAL ELECTRIFICATION POVERTY |
| spellingShingle |
ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY POWER GRID RURAL ELECTRIFICATION POVERTY Blimpo, Moussa P. Postepska, Agnieszka Why is Household Electricity Uptake Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? |
| geographic_facet |
Africa Sub-Saharan Africa |
| description |
Access to electricity in Sub-Saharan
Africa is the lowest in the world, although a larger
proportion of the population lives under the grid. This
demand-side challenge is likely to be exacerbated with the
grid expansion as the areas currently o_-grid are
disproportionately more rural and poorer. This paper uses
the most recent individual and household level data to
examine the determinants of, and barriers to, electricity
uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa. It supplements the analysis
with qualitative fieldwork in three countries. Regarding the
areas under the electricity grid, the paper follows Wodon et
al. (2009) to show that demand-side constraints to a large
extent explain the low level of electricity access and then
proceed to identify the factors that drive uptake both at an
individual and community level. Findings suggest that while
the level of income remains a primary and consistent driver
of uptake, regularity and predictability of income is a key
constraint. Additionally, housing quality, independently of
the variation in their socio-economic status is a
significant determinant of uptake. To extrapolate on the
determinant of uptake in areas currently off-grid, shall the
grid be extended to those areas, we use Heckman (1976) two
stages estimation procedure and several control variables to
address selection bias. The analysis reveals that targeting
communities that already enjoy higher economic livelihood or
communities in which the provision of electrification is
likely to induce economic activities is key to achieving
high take-up rates and contribute toward the financial
viability of the utilities and the sector. Policies such as
pre-paid meters, energy-efficient appliance, credit access
will address some of the specific constraints. However, the
desire for productive use emerging from the qualitative work
suggests that electrification efforts may be more successful
if bundled with facilities for household to acquire
appliances for productive use which has the potential to
increase uptake and enhance livelihoods simultaneously. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Blimpo, Moussa P. Postepska, Agnieszka |
| author_facet |
Blimpo, Moussa P. Postepska, Agnieszka |
| author_sort |
Blimpo, Moussa P. |
| title |
Why is Household Electricity Uptake Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? |
| title_short |
Why is Household Electricity Uptake Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? |
| title_full |
Why is Household Electricity Uptake Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? |
| title_fullStr |
Why is Household Electricity Uptake Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Why is Household Electricity Uptake Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? |
| title_sort |
why is household electricity uptake low in sub-saharan africa? |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2019 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/131801577177846523/Why-is-Household-Electricity-Uptake-Low-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33109 |
| _version_ |
1764478020186275840 |