Abstract
Energy poverty has been a major concern for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Government efforts predominantly focus on expanding national grid networks to address energy needs. Less attention has been given to alternative forms of co-provision of cooking and lighting energy, although they are critical elements of urban energy governance. Using the analytical concept of socio-technical heterogeneity, this study draws insights from empirical data in Accra to understand everyday energy configurations used by urban dwellers outside the formal state-led infrastructures. It was found that, for electricity, households adopt heterogeneous configurations, including electricity theft, meter sharing, illegal expansion of the grid, self-help solar PV, use of small diesel generators, back-up power appliances, and service phone charging vendors. In terms of cooking energy, households adopt fuel switching, use of multiple cooking stoves, and use of improved cooking stoves. These co-provisions reflect a governance failure and, at the same time, fill critical provision gaps. Heterogeneous configurations also come with socioeconomic and environmental externalities. The findings suggest a need for decentralisation and integration of context-specific, place-based and situated forms of co-provision or heterogeneous configuration into urban energy planning and governance.
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Notes
Dumsor is a local Ghanaian term used to describe frequent, erratic and unplanned electricity power outage.
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Ahmed, A., Bruns, A. Energy Poverty and the Proliferation of Heterogeneous Infrastructure Configurations in Accra: Implications for Urban Energy Governance in African Cities. Urban Forum (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-024-09507-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-024-09507-4