Abstract
Investments in the exploitation of the continent’s raw material reserves have resulted in little (positive) impact on the energy security situation within Africa. This paper attempts to explore factors influencing the level of energy security of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, and from the dimension of availability, affordability, economic efficiency and environmental stewardship or sustainability of energy. The cross-sectional survey design was employed as the design for the collection and analysis of data. The study applied a quantitative research method in examining the indicators of energy security for SMEs in Accra Metropolis in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The population covered about 500 SMEs who have about 100 employees and total revenue of $1 million or the equivalence in Ghana Cedis. A sample of 246 was selected through a cluster and simple random sampling. The analysis adopted statistical techniques to conduct descriptive, exploratory and inferential analysis of the data collected. Factors that influence the level of energy security of SMEs are broadly categorized into the environment and economic change, political factors, physical disruptions and market conditions. Ge- nerally, the level of energy security under the availability dimension is medium among the SMEs. Issues of affordability, economic efficiency and environmental stewardship provide high medium interventions on energy security for SMEs. It is recommended that managers of Ghana’s energy sector should ensure prudent management of the country’s energy resources since the disruption of supply lines or sources form the key conditions that influence the energy security level of SMEs. SMEs should adopt energy efficiency measures to ensure that energy is conserved for future use.
Highlights
Energy Security (ES) is an old but evolving concept of varied definitions [1] [2]
Factors that influence the level of energy security of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are broadly categorized into the environment and economic change, political factors, physical disruptions and market conditions
The level of energy security under the availability dimension is medium among the SMEs
Summary
The concept has received attention from different sectors including science, national energy policies, politics, health, international relations, and as a national security issue [3]. As a result of the varied contexts of the concept in energy studies, many policy planners continue to downplay the significance of the environment in ES [9]. It is insightful, to acknowledge that energy poverty as a domestic flow issue is regarded within the realm of the social welfare system and not energy security because energy security concepts usually assume existing energy flows [10]. These organizations continue to face challenges of ES partly because of the failure to understand the significant roles that a mix of factors including environmental concerns could play in energy management
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