Overcoming energy poverty has been one of Africa’s greatest challenges. According to a world Bank report, as at February, 2017, Africa has more than 500 million people living without electricity. It is of no doubt that this lack of access to electricity affects all segments of the society; living conditions of citizens and residents are negatively affected, small businesses suffer due to lack of power etc. Therefore, improving Africa’s energy situation is central to the fight against extreme poverty.
For most African countries, developing the power sector was not a priority after gaining independence. However, in recent times, the lack of access to power directly influences Africa’s attempts at economic diversification. After years of not being a priority, energy policy is starting to move to centre-stage in Africa. Governments are adopting ambitious targets for power generation, backed in some cases by far-reaching reforms of their energy sectors. Private, domestic, and foreign investors, are also seizing new market opportunities.
The World Bank Group and the United Nations have committed to achieving universal access to electricity by 2030, this initiative has Africa at the centre of it. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations embrace the need for economic development that leaves no one behind and gives everyone a fair chance of leading a decent life. The seventh goal acknowledges the importance of “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. In order to reach SDG7, Africa will need to electrify over 60 million people each year, more than double its current performance. The problem with this, is that the overall expansion of electrification in Africa has not kept pace with population growth in the same period, in sharp contrast to South Asia where electrification grew four times as fast as population. What this shows is that universal access by 2030 may not be achievable using just conventional energy means, Africa also needs to extend to unconventional means.