New regulatory and business model approaches to achieving universal electricity access

Abstract

Universal access to electricity should be achievable by 2030, the deadline proposed by the UN in its Access for all initiative. However, progress so far has been too slow. The International Energy Agency estimates that by 2030 still more than half billion people, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, will lack electricity access. Technology and sufficient funding exist, yet other key components of the solution are clearly missing. This paper argues that an essential lacking component is a regulatory and associated business model package that is well adapted to the specific characteristics of electrification in the least developed countries, and that can be supported by sound quantitative analysis of the costs and benefits of every considered option.