Abstract
Despite the general agreement about the benefits that electrification brings to well-being, few studies have concentrated on the actual effects of electrification on the diverse non-economic dimensions of quality of life (QoL). In a multi-disciplinary and cross-institutional effort, a group of natural and social scientists have studied three electrification schemes (grid extension, centralised hybrid, and solar home systems) in four rural villages in Malaysia, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Using a novel approach with scales on several QoL measures (self-reported QoL and five QoL sub-domains; psychological, physical, social, and economic well-being; occupations; and total active time), this article presents an analysis of the effects of rural electrification on human well-being. With original data surveyed in the villages through a baseline prior to electrification and an endpoint several months after, the effects were examined through suitable statistical methods. Overall, we confirmed a positive effect of electrification in self-reported QoL levels as well as psychological, physical, and social well-being. There was, however, a certain reduction recorded in economic well-being. In the sub-domains of QoL, there were no changes after electrification in satisfaction levels concerning time use, time spent alone, housing, and personal safety, but a positive effect on satisfaction levels was observed in cooking. Finally, in terms of occupation, we observed no changes in the total hours dedicated to work and no prolonged active time on usual activities in the household. The findings provide support to the hypothesis of a positive effect on general QoL from electrification, but also suggest more precisely that, for specific QoL sub-domains, the effect might not necessarily exist, or in fact, may be negative. The article concludes by discussing differences determined by cultural aspects and technological limitations in each of the systems under study.
Highlights
In 2020, around 850 million people worldwide are still facing insufficient access to electricity, most living in rural areas of developing countries [1]
It was observed that the sample was balanced between genders, and that respondents below 25 years old were underrepresented, but the the four remaining age cohorts above were relatively balanced in number
We conclude that the significant increase in self-reported quality of life (QoL) in the hybrid system in Oak Pho, Myanmar can be attibuted to the severe state of deprivation of electricity before being formally electrified in comparison with
Summary
In 2020, around 850 million people worldwide are still facing insufficient access to electricity, most living in rural areas of developing countries [1]. Renewable energy (RE), in particular, solar technologies, is more accessible and has opened new possibilities to supply power via off-grid systems in rural electrification projects. An increasing amount of literature has been dedicated to report on the techno-economic feasibility of different rural electrification schemes [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10], electrification policies or frameworks [11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18], as well as other social-related issues [19,20,21,22,23,24]. Grid extension is usually considered the best option as it guarantees a continuous supply with high power capability, but numerous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of rural electrification using individual solar photovoltaic systems [4,25] or centralised systems [3,26]
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