An Energy Poverty Case Study: A Whole Systems Perspective Applied to an Informal Settlement

Abstract

This paper describes the novel application of a systems approach within the context of energy poverty mitigation. This is enriched by using an informal human settlement situated in the Western Cape near Cape Town as case study. A systems approach is used to design and integrate system interfaces within an “energy poverty system” leading to a proposed new System Reinforcing Model (SRM) for Energy Access Sustainability (EAS) in energy‐poor communities. The proposed model identifies interrelated systems and elements, developed as design decisions and system designs grounded in energy‐use patterns and behavior, energy access options, sustainability, socio‐economic, cultural, technical, and environmental issues. The proposed new SRM is then applied to a typical energy‐poor community where the model's significance is effectively demonstrated. Based on its participatory sensitivity, the model reveals system parts instigating energy poverty and limiting energy access.

The theoretical peculiarities of energy poverty research: A systematic literature review

“…Finally, other authors build frameworks based on systems theory and analysis. For instance, Inda and Lalk [148] use complex systems theory to construct a conceptual system model of energy poverty that features energy, environmental and social factors, micro and macro policy, constraints, and interactions; Jessel et al [87] built a heuristic model from a literature review that links factors and impacts of chronic and acute energy insecurity; and Okoye and Lalk [149], through a participatory approach of personal interviews, defined an energy poverty system that disentangles the relations among subsystems, dimensions and factors of energy poverty in South Africa.…”