Electrification for “Under Grid” households in Rural Kenya

Lee, Kenneth; Brewer, Eric; Christiano, Carson; Meyo, Francis; Miguel, Edward; Podolsky, Matthew; Rosa, Javier; Wolfram, Catherine

doi:10.1016/j.deveng.2015.12.001

Cited by 121 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…This project aims to support government initiatives to increase electricity access [58]. Additional government input in Kenya could help to convert investment in electricity grid infrastructure into higher rates of electricity access [59]. Ethiopia is another country that had a government effectiveness score above the average for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2012.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Government Effectiveness for Transitions toward Greater Electrification in Developing Countries

Best

Burke

2017

Energies

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Electricity is a vital factor underlying modern living standards, but there are many developing countries with low levels of electricity access and use. We seek to systematically identify the crucial elements underlying transitions toward greater electrification in developing countries. We use a cross-sectional regression approach with national-level data up to 2012 for 135 low-and middle-income countries. The paper finds that the effectiveness of governments is the most important governance attribute for encouraging the transition to increased electrification in developing countries, on average. The results add to the growing evidence on the importance of governance for development outcomes. Donors seeking to make more successful contributions to electrification may wish to target countries with more effective governments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Government Effectiveness for Transitions toward Greater Electrification in Developing Countries

Best

Burke

2017

Energies

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“…A large-scale study of 20,000 geotagged households in Kenya showed that 50% of unconnected homes are "under grid," meaning they are within range of an existing transformer but are not connected. It turned out that the need for innovation lies not at the technological level but in identifying appropriate tech adoption incentives, such as subsidies and innovative financing mechanisms (Lee et al 2016). This experience shows the importance of taking an interdisciplinary approach by bringing together practitioners, engineers, anthropologists, economists, computer scientists etc.…”

Section: The Bumpy Road To Social Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Innovation to Social Impact

Hostettler

2018

Technologies for Development

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“…In a separate publication (Pueyo et al 2017), we applied the new Green Investment Diagnostics methodology to identify the most binding constraints that if tackled could deliver the biggest 'bang for the buck' of the policymaker. We followed a systematic approach using a decision tree analysis drawing from the original growth diagnostics approach (Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco 2004) and building evidence through the collection of indicators and interviews with key stakeholders from the government, project developers, technical advisers, sectoral associations, and financial institutions. Three key constraints preventing further investment in renewables came up strongly from our analysis: low demand and inability to pay in rural areas; high system costs due to a lack of networking infrastructure and an inflexible generation mix; and serious problems of social acceptance and access to land.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Economy of Investment in Renewable Electricity in Kenya

Osiolo

Pueyo²,

Gachanja

2017

IDS Bulletin

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Kenya has been hailed as a successful sub-Saharan African country in attracting private investment for renewable energy. However, energy poverty remains very high, with connectivity rates lower than the average for sub-Saharan Africa and poor quality of supply for those connected. Several constraints persist to achieve universal access to clean and affordable electricity: high system costs, including a deficient transmission and distribution infrastructure; low rural demand and inadequate planning to meet it; and local opposition to large renewable infrastructure. This article considers the political economy of these constraints, explaining how they arose, which policies can address them and which actors back or oppose these policies. The overarching message is that a prominent state role is required to fund the network components of the electricity system and to reach the less profitable segments of society, namely the rural poor. However, this clashes with a dominant private sector-led narrative in the international development community.

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Electrification for “Under Grid” households in Rural Kenya

Cited by 121 publications

References 8 publications

The Importance of Government Effectiveness for Transitions toward Greater Electrification in Developing Countries

The Importance of Government Effectiveness for Transitions toward Greater Electrification in Developing Countries

From Innovation to Social Impact

The Political Economy of Investment in Renewable Electricity in Kenya

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