Energy poverty in Africa is gendered; it disproportionately affects women and girls. The intersection between energy poverty and gender is well researched, but there are no studies that investigate the percentage of women with electricity access in Africa, which makes target setting difficult.
In most African societies it is the women and girls tasked with fetching wood and water, making fires, heating water for baths and cooking. In a world where there is no electricity, this places a heavy burden on girls and women. They get up as early as 3am to start these daily chores, which often extend late into the evening.
This removes women from income-generating activities despite their personal ambitions, and keeps girls illiterate. This encourages them to marry early as they have no education. In some countries girls attend school in the afternoon to try to address this crisis. Among other variables, the lack of electricity also makes girls physically unsafe in public spaces and susceptible to abuses such as child marriage. This practice is so pervasive that even in polygamous marriages it is common for men to marry a young wife who stays at home to look after ageing parents and carry out menial tasks.
Grid access is costly, and in some countries will never reach remote areas. Thus African utilities and governments are considering electrification models that are not reliant on the grid. One of these is microgrids, which are defined as a group of small, interconnected loads and distributed energy resources that are usually attached to a centralised national grid but are able to function independently.
Sierra Leone successfully launched microgrids during the ebola outbreak using a spoke-and-wheel approach. They are attached to anchors such as clinics or schools and are powered using a combination of solar, batteries and diesel generators. Once the local clinic is electrified there is an influx of people who set up homes in the vicinity in the hope of being electrified too. These microgrid electrification efforts are almost always driven by the private sector, with government support and foreign funding.
Microgrids aid in driving local economies. For example, women can buy freezers and stock them with fish from the market, which they then sell in the neighbourhood. This extends the working day of women for income-generating activities. Women also enter entrepreneurship by charging people a fee to charge their phones, or open convenience stores. Access to electricity also allows street vendors to extend their trading hours by making use of street lights.
Distributors of home solar systems use these convenience stores as distribution centres for solar equipment. Microgrids have allowed local clinics to store anti-venom and vaccines. And they have enabled women to give birth in well-lit and equipped rooms, as opposed to candlelight.
Energy poverty is defined as “a situation in which a household is unable to attain adequate levels of energy use, leaving them unable to satisfy their basic needs”. This means in some of these societies electricity is used only at certain times of the month, as microgrid tariffs are exorbitant.
Tariffs are influenced by location, size and technology mix. Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa suggest microgrid electricity costs range from R14 to R16 per kWh. This is far higher than traditional utility tariffs in the region, but potentially cheaper and more useful than alternative fuel sources such as paraffin.
As microgrids expand on the continent it will be imperative to create a conducive environment. Policies that encourage renewable energy and microgrid development are crucial. This can include feed-in tariffs for excess power generation and streamlined permitting processes. Investment in battery storage research can also bring down costs and improve microgrid reliability.
Leveraging Africa’s strong mobile network infrastructure to integrate ICT into microgrid management can optimise efficiency. By combining these elements, African countries can create a favourable landscape for widespread microgrid deployment.
• Mashele, an energy economist, is a member of the board of the National Transmission Company of SA.
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