Electricity and informal settlements: Towards achieving SDG 7 in developing countries

Abstract

Despite many academic discussions on the importance of sustainable and reliable energy to informal settlement dwellers, there is limited evidence on the delivery of electricity in informal settlements, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using the concept of tactical urbanism, this study examined electricity delivery and access to informal settlement dwellers in Accra, Ghana as an important component of meeting SDG seven. The paper analyses evidence collected through three focus group discussions of thirty informal settlement dwellers in three communities in Accra. The findings showed that whereas access to electricity in informal settlements has improved significantly, this increase is a result of corruption and connivance with electricity officials and that informal settlement dwellers pay exorbitantly to access and use electricity. This paper contributes to the growing body of scholarship on sustainable electricity in urban informal settlements in the Global South by documenting the experiences of informal settlement dwellers in Accra, Ghana.