Impact of energy reforms on the poor in Southern Africa

Most poor households in sub-Saharan Africa cannot afford an electricity connection and even if they get a connection they can only afford to use electricity predominantly for lighting, television and radio. They cannot afford to use it for their most energy-intensive use: cooking. Some countries in Southern Africa have approved policies to assist the poor to get access to electricity. South Africa, Botswana and Malawi have successfully implemented energy reforms and strategies aimed at this, though with different approaches in the three countries. South Africa has a strong economic base and the capacity to provide efficient energy services and highly subsidised electricity access. Botswana’s rural electrification programme is based on cost recovery for the utility: as a result of extending the loan period for the connection fee and adapting the monthly repayment amount to the ability of poor households to pay, electricity connections increased significantly. In Malawi a fixed-rate tariff and a limited-current supply was introduced. The repayment for the ready board was amortised over five years and added to the fixed monthly payment, the amount being adjusted to the ability of the households to pay. In Access II populations were divided into poor and non-poor. These broad categories limited a more differentiated analysis of the impact of power sector reform. In countries which have a high proportion of poor people – in some cases up to 80% of the population – we need to divide them into groups of very poor and not so poor. In this study the poor are ranked by income, and the division into different income groups permitted a more differentiated analysis than just looking at ‘poor’ and ‘non-poor’. The very poor who need further support can be targeted for further assistance. The analysis of the South African data also revealed that the higher urban income groups among the poor can afford to use electricity for most of their energy requirements and need no additional policy support. The analysis also showed how the poor change their energy portfolios as their income improves. The persistent use of fuelwood for cooking among all income groups of poor rural households has remained a matter of concern, particularly as the burning of fuelwood leads to indoor air pollution and affects the health of women and children. The sustainability of fuelwood supplies are also not guaranteed as population increases and fuelwood becomes more commercialised putting pressure on rural areas supplying cities. Even after electrification, households continue to use fuelwood for cooking. The income-differentiated analysis shows that as incomes rise, fewer households use fuelwood and substitute it by kerosene, electricity and gas

Renewable energy technologies for poverty alleviation: South Africa - biodiesel and solar water heaters

South Africa, like other transitional countries, faces the dual challenge of pursuing economic growth and environmental protection. Sustainable energy systems, based on renewable energy (RE) resources, offer the possibility of doing both. The implementation of RE technologies faces a major challenge because South Africa has large coal deposits and its electricity generated from coal is among the cheapest in the world. Currently less than 1% of the 200 000 GWh of electricity generated in the country originates from renewable sources (DME, 2003a). The Government’s White Paper on Renewable Energy Policy (2003) supports the establishment of RE technologies, targeting the provision of 10 000 GWh of electricity from renewable resources by 2013. This has the potential to create 35 000 jobs, adding R5 billion to the GDP and R687 million to the incomes of low-income households (DME, 2004). Solar water heating and biodiesel have the greatest potential to contribute to meeting the target. RE is to be utilised for both power generation and non-electric technologies such as solar water heating and biofuels. By late 2005 the DME completed a Renewable Energy Target Monitoring Framework to ensure that progress towards the 2013 target is effectively monitored (DME, 2005a). In this report, two RE technologies – solar water heaters (SWHs) and biodiesel – have been identified where renewable energy could make a significant contribution towards poverty alleviation in terms of improving the general welfare of households as well as developing productive activities to generate employment. The country has high levels of solar radiation and an established manufacturing infrastructure for SWHs. They can contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and their manufacture and installation can contribute to job creation and skills development. However, the high upfront capital cost of SWHs is one of the key barriers to the development of a market in South Africa. Biodiesel has the potential to contribute to job creation, economic development in disadvantaged rural communities, energy security in the light of rising oil prices, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the key challenges to the development of a biodiesel market are food security and limited water resources

Renewable energy technologies for poverty alleviation - Initial assessment report: South Africa

South African energy policy priorities have always been closely linked to the prevailing political situation. Pre-democratic energy policy and planning were characterized by energy security priorities, excessive secrecy and racially skewed provision of energy services. Post-apartheid South Africa witnessed substantial revision and a strong focus on energy for development. In accordance with the Constitution (Act No. 108 of 1996) an inclusive Energy White Paper (1998) was developed. Major objectives of government’s Energy White Paper are (DME, 1998): • Increasing access to affordable energy services; • Stimulating economic development – encouragement of competition within energy markets; • Managing energy-related environmental and health effects; • Securing supply through diversity – increased opportunities for energy trade and diversity in both supply sources and primary energy carriers. Renewable energy becomes one of the areas that the government would want to consider pursuing in managing energy-related environmental impacts and diversifying energy supplies from a coaldominated system. In May 2004, the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) published the White Paper on Renewable Energy Policy. This targets the provision of 10 000 GWh (accumulative over a period of 10 years) of electricity from RE resources (mainly biomass, wind, solar and small-scale hydro projects) by 2013. This is approximately 4 % of the country’s estimated electricity demand or equivalent to replacing two 660 MW units of Eskom’s combined coal-fired power stations. At present less than 1% of the 200 000 GWh of electricity generated annually in South Africa originates from RE sources (DME, 2004)

Cape Town energy futures: Policies and scenarios for sustainable city energy development

The purpose of this report is to develop some scenarios for Cape Town’s energy future. The simulation model, the Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system, has been used to simulate how energy might develop in Cape Town over the twenty years from 2000 to 2020. These developments are driven not only by the nature of the energy sector itself, but also by broader factors, notably population, household size, economic growth (which may vary by sector) and other factors. The report builds on previous work done on the ‘state of energy’ for Cape Town (CCT & SEA 2003). That report was useful in capturing the current status of energy in the city, informed the City Energy Strategy conference and Cape Town’s own strategy (SEA, CCT & ICLEI 2003) and provided the starting data for this study. This report takes the work further in developing a tool that simulates what might happen to energy in the future, in a business-as-usual case and with policy interventions. A range of policy interventions are selected, and how these would change energy development in the city is examined, compared to a reference case. Interventions were selected based on various criteria, including implementation cost and technical feasibility, environmental priority, and political will. Different policies can be grouped for their sectors – industry, residential, commercial, government and transport – and also combined to form multiple-policy scenarios. These scenarios should be understood as a series of ‘what if’ questions, e.g. what if the City of Cape Town increased efficiency in its own buildings. The scenarios are not any prediction of the future, nor are any of these scenarios considered more likely than others. Instead, we report the implications of different policies and scenarios. The implications for energy, environment (both local pollutants and global greenhouse gases) and development are of particular interest. This study reports the cost implications of different scenarios only to a limited extent, as to do this adequately for many of the scenarios is beyond the scope of the project. Areas where further work is required, including around costing, are also identified

A proposed methodology for the gathering and dissemination of household energy information in South Africa

Bibliography: leaves 48-51.The aim of this study was to develop a methodology that would cost-effectively supply reliable and up-to-date household energy information that can be utilised by energy policy-making and planning. One of the most serious constraints faced by energy planners and policy makers in developing countries is the absence of a systematic, comprehensive and structured household energy information system. A system of this nature, which requires regular updating, is a prerequisite for meeting the challenge of poverty alleviation. During the apartheid era, the only available household energy information was that of commercial fuels (oil. gas. coal and electricity), used mostly by industrial and commercial sectors and Whites households. The majority of Black households used traditional fuels (fuel-wood, paraffin etc.) for which no information was available. The present government has also not managed to devote adequate resources to this gap in data gathering and analysis, the important first step in developing energy policies and strategies. This thesis is an attempt to address this shortcoming, effectively by proposing that high school learners be engaged in household energy data gathering and dissemination with the objective of supplying reliable information cost-effectively for energy planning and policy-making. However, this study has also shown that this is only possible if preceded by a programme of energy education. The reasons for which energy education must be integrated with the school curriculum have been explored in the thesis. As a result of this research reliable, up-to-date household energy information was gathered cost-effectively. Learners benefited educationally and this in turn would equip them to make more rational decisions about energy production and usage in the future. Information gathered and knowledge about this methodology should be conveyed to local authorities, regional and national governments through appropriate structures in order to explore the potential of its extension to a larger scale implementation

n Ondersoek na landelike onderwys in die Wes-Kaap met spesiale verwysing na die agogiese nood van die mense van die Elgin-Vyeboom-Grabouw (ELVYGRA) gebied

Tesis (M. Ed.) -- Universiteit van Stellenbosch, 1997.Een kopie mikrofiche.Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record