Demystifying the authentic attributes of electricity-poor populations: The electrification landscape of rural off-grid island communities in the Philippines

Lozano, Lorafe; Taboada, Evelyn B.

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111715

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In the context of Philippine electrification, the deliberation of the social dimension becomes necessary as rural electrification initiatives have shifted from government-initiated efforts to private sector participation [87]. This means that the future of rural electrification is now subject to private capitalization and the subsequent need for the private sector to generate profits from such projects [21]. It then becomes necessary for rural communities to realize the benefits of electrification by ensuring that such systems provide for the socioeconomic growth and sustainable development of the end-users.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While efforts are already underway to extend electricity access to rural communities either through off-grid systems or grid extensions, it is also necessary to establish the ability of these systems to support SD [20,21]. Determining how electrification systems promote SD is a challenge for policy-and decision-makers considering the multi-faceted dimensions influencing such development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Power of Electricity: How Effective Is It in Promoting Sustainable Development in Rural Off-Grid Islands in the Philippines?

Lozano

Taboada

2021

Energies

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Electrification plays a crucial role in the advancement of rural communities but establishing its impact to the communities’ sustainable development remains a challenge. This paper presents a pragmatic framework for assessing how electrification affects sustainable development at the grassroots level with eight indicators in the economic, technical, social, and environmental dimensions highlighted. An exploratory factor analysis approach is applied to determine how these dimensions contribute to the community’s overall sustainable development. The framework is applied in two islands in the Philippines of less than 500 households and varying electrification levels. Results indicate that Gilutongan Island, which has less than 24-h electricity access rarely find productive uses of electricity and still make use of conventional fuels for lighting. Meanwhile, Cobrador Island, which has 24-h access see improvements in almost all aspects, although they are slightly burdened by the unaffordability of tariffs. This means that islands with limited hours for electricity access rarely experience positive impacts to their socioeconomic development while the opposite is true for islands with longer access. The framework can be a useful tool for decision- and policy-makers to assess electrification in rural off-grid communities and to streamline efforts in helping these communities achieve sustainable development.

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Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Power of Electricity: How Effective Is It in Promoting Sustainable Development in Rural Off-Grid Islands in the Philippines?

Lozano

Taboada

2021

Energies

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“…This work recommends further studies on how improvements in affordability can be described in tiers similar to those for the other attributes, especially given that affordability can be numerically quantified. There have been attempts towards this direction in the study by Lozano and Taboada [40], but more studies need to be done to set the appropriate tier boundaries of the attribute of affordability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving Up the Electrification Ladder in Off-Grid Settlements with Rooftop Solar Microgrids

et al. 2021

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The multi-tier framework (MTF) of electricity access defines a continuum of electrification from tier 0, where access is inexistent or very limited, to tier 5 where access is of grid quality. Transitioning households from lower to higher tiers unlocks the potential in meeting more of their energy needs. This study investigates the transition towards higher tier electricity access on Gilutongan Island, an off-grid island of Cebu, Philippines, which is also an informal settlement community with no open land available for a centralized solar PV system. The solar PV potential of suitable rooftops on the island was determined using satellite imagery, ground measurements, and computation. The electricity demand of a cluster of 11 households was examined in detail; these households, situated near two suitable rooftops, were connected to an installed 7.92 kWp solar PV-based microgrid. Results show that the households moved up from lower to higher tier levels in all MTF attributes except for affordability. Nevertheless, the cost of a standard electricity consumption package of 1 kWh/day dropped from 18% of the average household income to 6%. Moving up on the electrification ladder to higher tier electricity access in off-grid areas is attainable with households clustered as a microgrid using rooftop solar PV. Affordability remains to be the biggest challenge that needs to be addressed.

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“…It enables gender equality as women with electricity access will now have better opportunities to earn a living, to study, or to ease the burden of domestic activities. Moreover, promoting increased electricity access and stimulating PUEs break the cycle of electricity poverty experienced by these marginalized populations [67].…”

Section: Significance Of Productive Uses Of Electricitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Viability of Providing 24-Hour Electricity Access to Off-Grid Island Communities in the Philippines

2021

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Techno-economic viability assessments of rural electrification projects, especially those that integrate renewable energy technologies, typically look at system design optimization that would yield the most favorable cost and investment scenarios. However, the true viability of these projects relies more importantly on their impact to the rural communities while ensuring positive financial returns to the project developers. This paper aims to expand the viability assessment of electrification projects in off-grid island communities in order to mainly address the apparently opposing needs of the major stakeholders at play by developing a viability assessment framework considering the techno-economic dimensions as well as the socio-economic impacts to the consumers. The analysis follows a two-phase approach, where system design optimization and financial impact calculations are done in the first phase and the socio-economic viability is accomplished in the second phase. Results suggest that high capital investment for renewable energy has a better pay-off when there is higher demand for electricity. On the other hand, consumers also tend to receive higher economic benefit as they consume more electricity. However, the low income of rural consumers strains their capacity to pay, which necessitates their engagement in more economically-productive uses of electricity. The viability assessment framework can be a useful tool for both investors and consumers as this provides important insights which can be translated into impactful interventions that may include government support through improved policy implementation that can positively sustain electricity access in off-grid communities through renewable energy.

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Demystifying the authentic attributes of electricity-poor populations: The electrification landscape of rural off-grid island communities in the Philippines

Cited by 15 publications

References 32 publications

The Power of Electricity: How Effective Is It in Promoting Sustainable Development in Rural Off-Grid Islands in the Philippines?

The Power of Electricity: How Effective Is It in Promoting Sustainable Development in Rural Off-Grid Islands in the Philippines?

Moving Up the Electrification Ladder in Off-Grid Settlements with Rooftop Solar Microgrids

The Viability of Providing 24-Hour Electricity Access to Off-Grid Island Communities in the Philippines

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