Power quality and modern energy for all

Significance

This research provides a detailed mapping of voltage quality in a sub-Saharan African (SSA) community and connects power systems data to household surveys and interviews for a comprehensive understanding of life under an unreliable grid. Reliability within the context of “modern energy for all” in SSA has traditionally focused on power outages rather than voltage quality and on businesses rather than households. Our research expands on energy access scholarship and reliability concerns in SSA by offering an illustrative case study of access in Unguja, Tanzania. As electricity access expands in financially constrained communities, creating capacity-constrained connections, our Unguja study offers a crucial look at what that access means for SSA communities.

Abstract

“Modern energy for all,” an internationally supported initiative to connect populations to electricity services, is expected to help reduce poverty-induced vulnerabilities. It has become a primary strategy for meeting sustainable development goals, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. However, when electricity is supplied by a capacity-constrained grid to a resource-constrained population, the service quality can vary both spatially and temporally. This research explores the quality of electricity services based on a case study of Unguja, Tanzania. Using 1) open-ended interviews, 2) detailed electricity-systems monitoring, and 3) household surveys, we show how voltage quality varies significantly, even within highly localized settings. Fluctuations result in dim lights at best and power outages and broken appliances at worst, denying many Unguja residents the expected benefits of access to modern energy. By combining an extensive understanding of the physical system together with interviews and surveys, this work presents a unique mapping of voltage quality in a system that is financially and physically constrained and highlights the consequences of poor-quality service for poor users.