Energy Services for the Urban Poor In Africa

I chose to read this book because I was more interested in the between-the-lines information, which was whether the very poor in Africa are being forced into payment schemes around the theme of climate emergency in the process of solving Africa's energy crisis. The studies in the five-country cases sought to determine whether energy subsidies are well-targeted to the urban poor, the impact of energy subsidies on public finances and how electricity tariffs affect the operation of SME's (small and medium enterprises). I found the writing compassionate, the comparison between countries very readable and of interest to a layperson.
Bereket Kebede is currently development economist and is systems development manager at the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company. The book is a publication of Zedbooks, a press specializing in international social science research and investigation based in London, UK and is an update from 2004. The book itself is a project of the African Energy Policy Network, a Nairobi-based NGO launched in 1989 that works with the UN and SIDA, among others, in examining future energy scenarios for African cities.
Subsidies in Sub-Saharan Africa are widely used to “improve the access of urban poor” to electricity, a population that relies largely on fuel-wood, kerosene, and dung as their main sources of energy. Many governments provide kerosene subsidies. Electricity supply is mainly dominated by government-owned utilities, so connection fees become an issue that can be spread out allowing connection access over a number of electricity bills. An example is Uganda which subsidizes 79 percent of the connection fees if customers are located within an 80 metre distance of a low-tension line.
The studies also examine the question of who receives subsidies and suggests removing kerosene subsidy because it tends to be only higher-income households that receive the largest portion of the subsidy. This was interesting, as it evidences government intervention to prevent improper exploitation of subsidies. Other ideas such as tariffs are also discussed, as each region has very different culture and human resources and technical capacity.
The book then discusses projects such as Zambia's Pamodzi Low Cost Electrification Project, “which uses a deferred payment system to enable poor urban households to own 2-plate cookers for which they pay over time.” In the Pamodzi project, use of charcoal and firewood was radically reduced, but participants then become dependent on the grid.
This made me wonder if climate change issues would result in the bullying of the poor in such areas to take on exorbitant and long-term expenses because their pre-existing (traditional) heating and cooking methods are interpreted as environmentally problematic.
Thankfully, the book addresses the ability for households to afford such expenses is also studied in detail, as is the capital cost of subsidy on the GDP. In many cases, upfront costs have been a major deterrent in terms of house wiring, utility fees, and electrical equipment such as bulbs, and other devices.
“It seems that despite subsidy, many households are not able to switch over." The examination of loans and repayment periods is presented in depth. Payback with an interest rate of 14 percent in five years was offered but the book remarked that some would need sixteen years. Many good suggestions are offered including increasing support for sustainable energy use which could help with the introduction of solar energy and other forms such as wind power.
This is a theme in Uganda, where advocates for the poor argue around price and support resistance to switching. The book does effectively explore these ideas and others, arriving not at a series of conclusions so much as a demonstration of trends. The book then proceeds to reinforce the relevance of the discussion with a series of regional profiles, addressing Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Tanzania and Uganda. By examining key trends, including which houses are on the electrical grid and the mandated book inquiry involving energy use in SME's.
It's a very comprehensive study with notes on each region as detailed appendixes, references and charts. There is detailed data regarding the researchers, the research approach and a transparent discussion of their data collection challenges.
I recommend this book as a groundwork for understanding the issues, but while it displayed how vulnerable this population might be to pressure, as it was an update to a 2004 publication, it did not directly address climate change so much as environmental degradation, but it demonstrated compassion for Africa's poor in the approach of these studies, which was reassuring to a reader. The book approached the rapid rate of urbanization in Africa and “the recent focus on poverty alleviation,” in a comprehensive manner. Today the authors are involved in putting the infrastructure in place that can address climate change goals in Africa, a place with the richest solar resources on the planet. The potential to power Africa in a way that avoids the fossil fuel dependency of the past has never been brighter, assuming political regimes and big energy interests can allow universal access to clean, affordable energy to gain ground in 2020.

Kebede, B., & Dube, I. (2004). Energy Services for the urban poor in Africa: Issues and policy implications. Zed.