Rural Electrification: the problem

The UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) is universal access to electricity, we are a long way from that as an estimated 770 million people worldwide, including over 500 million in Africa live without access to electricity.​

The Covid-19 crisis brought an end to continued recent progress,

2021 saw the first increase in a decade in the number of people without access to electricity.

To achieve SDG7 by 2030, 100 million people must be connected each year which requires an investment of $35bn or 2% of current global energy investment.

While financing is the major barrier to project implementation, policy commitment and appropriate use of technology are also significant barriers to progress.

In South Africa, a significant minority, particularly in rural areas do not have grid access, current constraints on the grid make it unlikely that rural grid connections will be a priority any time soon. Even where grid connections are available, the problem for rural communities is affordability, those households below the poverty line are typically unable to afford sufficient electricity for their basic needs.