Africa produces seven percent of the world’s commercial energy but consumes only three percent. Only 23 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity. In rural areas 92 percent of the population live without electricity.

A study from Practical Action, UK asserts that this lack of access to energy is significantly contributing to poverty. It looks at two recent proposals for African development, the New Economic Partnership for Africa (NEPAD) and the Commission for Africa, to review how the energy problem is being treated. It also considers the current and potential role of the European Union (EU) in addressing the issue.

Efforts to find appropriate solutions are hindered by lack of attention at national policy levels. It is often difficult and expensive for conventional grid and fuel distribution networks to reach more remote areas. In urban areas, few utilities and fuel suppliers will supply to informal, and often illegal, settlements.

International development aid for energy projects is minimal and tends to focus on large-scale electricity supply at national or regional level, or on the export of energy resources. There is almost no focus on delivering energy services to poor people in rural and urban areas. NEPAD and the Commission for Africa focus on financing large-scale power plants. Energy has accounted for less than five percent of European aid since 1990, most of which has been for large-scale infrastructure.

One new opportunity is the proposed ACP-EU Energy Facility. This would provide €250 million for African, Caribbean, and Pacific (APC) countries to focus more on the energy and poverty agenda. The fund will support rural electrification, decentralised energy systems, increased use of renewable energy and enhanced energy efficiency.

In helping to meet needs, however, policymakers and donors must bear in mind four critical factors:

• Affordability: the cost of energy has a significant impact on economic activities, especially at household level.
• Accessibility: access to energy and energy services should be improved at both household level and nationally.
• Availability: Africa has a wealth of under-exploited energy sources including oil, natural gas, and coal. There is also great potential for renewable energy – geothermal, hydro and wind power, and solar.
• Sustainability: there is no single solution suitable for all areas and conditions, so there must be a mixture of appropriate interventions at national, local, and household levels.

African countries need great investment in their energy sectors to meet basic energy needs. While there is a need to invest in large-scale infrastructure across the continent, it is also essential that modern energy is made available to everyone.

Development aid funding to the energy sector must:

• reduce the overall reliance on biomass (plant materials and animal waste) through improved biomass technologies and improved rural access to commercial liquid and gaseous fuels
• promote sustainable forestry as a fuel source to the poorest and most isolated families
• integrate advances in energy with other aspects of rural development
• involve poor people in making decisions about how and where aid money for infrastructure is spent
• consider the contribution energy services can make to poverty reduction.

Source(s):
‘Europe’s chance to help light up Africa: energising poverty reduction in Africa’, Practical Action, by Alison Doig, Daniel Theuri, Lasten Mika, Teo Sanchez and Cornelius Mzezewa, 2005 Full document.
‘Africa - left in the dark? Energising Poverty Reduction in Africa’, Practical Action, 2006 Full document.

Funded by: The European Community

id21 Research Highlight: 16 May 2006

Further Information:
Teo Sanchez
Practical Action
The Schumacher Centre for Technology
Bourton-on-Dunsmore
Rugby
Warwickshire CV23 9QZ, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1926 634400
Fax: +44 (0)1926 634401
Contact the contributor: practicalaction@practicalaction.org.uk

Practical Action, UK

Other related links:
'Putting energy at the heart of poverty reduction'

'Cutting household smoke to improve quality of life'

'Time to integrate energy development in Africa'

'Powering the MDGs: development targets unattainable without energy'

'Energy in Africa – time to think across borders?'

'What energy systems are appropriate for poor villagers?'

'Assessing the impacts of energy projects on rural communities'