Are rural energy access programs pro-poor? Some are, many are not

Abstract

This perspective article discusses whether energy access programs in rural Sub-Saharan Africa reach the poor in a way that most policy actors claim. We examine on- and off-grid electrification as well as improved cooking. We focus on whether the poor adopt the respective technology in typical access programs and on the triggered productive use potentials to examine both direct and indirect potential pro-poor effects. Backed by the most recent literature, we argue that energy access interventions do not naturally deliver on pro-poor targets. If these pro-poor claims are to be met, programs need to improve their targeting. Subsidizing end-user prices is required for all technologies. Energy-efficient biomass cookstoves are most promising in terms of their pro-poor effects. Especially for electrification, the absence of substantial productive electricity use, and the low uptake among the poor suggests that care must be taken to also reach those too impoverished to afford connection costs.