Impact of Electrification on African Development-Analysis with Using Grey Systems Theory

Marcin Nowak,Aleksandra Rabczun,Paweł Łopatka

doi:10.3390/en14165181

Marcin Nowak, Aleksandra Rabczun + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en14165181

Copy DOI

Abstract

In this paper, the authors discuss the problem of the influence of the level of electrification in African countries on their sustainable development. The first aim of the article is to determine the relationship between changes in the electrification index and changes in the indicators showing individual components of sustainable development for African countries. The analyzed indicators of sustainable development include GDP per capita, Human Deveopment Index (HDI), and the CO2 emissions per capita indicator. The second goal of the article was to develop a synthetic indicator of sustainable development. This study uses the method of relationship research based on Gray Systems Theory—Gray Incidence Analysis. The main conclusion from the research carried out is that improving access to electricity is a necessary condition for the sustainable development of African countries. The lack of improvement in the availability of electricity is a basic barrier to development, especially in the poorest African countries.

Highlights

Introduction and Oleksii LyulyovMore than a billion and a half people around the world lack access to electricity, and another billion suffer intermittent or marginal quality of service due to electrification
The aim of this paper is to measure the relationship between the dynamics of the access to electricity (% of populations) index and the dynamics in changes of indices mirroring individual components of sustainable development, i.e., the component connected with social development, the component connected with economic development, and the component connected with environmental development for African countries
We defined the relationship between the dynamics of the access to electricity (% of populations) index and the dynamics of a synthetic index of sustainable growth proposed by us, based on the Human Deveopment Index (HDI), GDP per capita, and CO2 emissions per capita indices

Summary

Introduction

More than a billion and a half people around the world lack access to electricity, and another billion suffer intermittent or marginal quality of service due to electrification. The majority of these people live in suburban or rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. If the international agenda does not change that course, electrification rates will continue to diverge significantly among regions [2], which will lead to economic and social problems. If we want to understand the scale of the problem in sub-Saharan Africa, we should compare it to other regions with plenty of developing countries. The level of electricity access in Latin America or Middle East and North Africa countries is approximately 80–90%

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion