Browsing by Subject "Electrification"

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
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    Analysis of new electrification schemes in the Western Cape (Phase 2)
    (1993) Thorne, Steve; Theron, Paul
    The objective of this project is to examine electricity use in newly-electrified, poor urban settlements in the Western Cape, by monitoring and analysing household energy-consumption data and relevant socio-economic information. An important aim is to understand factors which affect the movement from multiple fuel use to greater electricity consumption. The intention is also to provide useful information for electrification planners.
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    Beyond free electricity: The cost of electric cooking in poor households and a market-friendly alternative
    (Elsevier, 2006) Howells, Mark; Victor, David G; Gaunt, Trevor; Elias, Rebecca J; Alfstad, Thomas
    The South African government is introducing a poverty-reduction policy that will supply households with a monthly 50kWh “Free Basic Electricity (FBE)” subsidy. We show that FBE distorts the energy choices of poor households by encouraging them to cook with electricity, whereas alternatives such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) can deliver a similar cooking service at a much lower cost to society. An alternative energy scheme, such as providing households with clean energy credits equivalent in value to the FBE’s cost, could deliver additional energy services worth at least 6% of total household welfare (and probably much more) at no additional public cost; those benefits are so large that they would cover the entire cost of LPG fuel needed to implement the scheme. The analysis is extremely sensitive to the coincidence of electric cooking with peak power demand on the South African grid and to assumptions regarding how South Africa will meet its looming shortfall in peak power capacity. One danger of FBE is that actual peak coincidence and the costs of supplying peak power could be much less favorable than we assume, and such uncertainties expose the South African power system to potentially very high costs of service.
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    Determinants of electricity demand for newly electrified low-income African households
    (Elsevier, 2008) Louw, Kate; Howells, Mark; Dekenah, Marcus; Conradie, Beatrice
    Access to clean, affordable and appropriate energy is an important enabler of development. Energy allows households to meet their most basic subsistence needs; it is a central feature of all the millennium development goals (MDGs) and, while a lack of access to energy may not be a cause of poverty, addressing the energy needs of the impoverished lets them access services which in turn address the causes of poverty. While much is known about the factors affecting the decisions made when choosing between fuel types within a household, few quantitative studies have been carried out in South Africa to determine the extent to which these factors affect energy choice decisions. It is assumed that the factors traditionally included in economic demand such as price and income of the household affect choice; tastes and preferences as well as external factors such as distance to fuel suppliers are expected to influence preferences. This study follows two typical low-income rural sites in South Africa, Antioch and Garagapola, where the Electricity Basic Services Support Tariff (EBSST) was piloted in 2002. The EBSST is set at 50 kWh/ month per household for low domestic consumers; this is worth approximately R201 (7US$3). This subsidy is a lifeline tariff, where households receive the set amount of units per month, free of charge irrespective of whether more units are purchased. These data (collected in 2001 and 2002), recently collated with detailed electricity consumption data, allow us to determine the drivers of electricity consumption within these households. The sample analysed is taken from the initial phase of the study, when no FBE had been introduced to the households. This enabled the study presented here to make use of the well-populated datasets to assess what affects the electricity use decision in these households. This paper attempts to assess which factors affected the decision-making process for electricity consumption within these households. A brief history of the electricity industry and the electrification is provided and the theoretical background for the electricity consumption model is provided. It was found that income, woodfuel usage, iron ownership and credit obtained were significant in determining consumption levels within these households. Price and cross-price elasticities were difficult to assess due to lack of data within the sample. The results have many possible implications for policy, including the effect that easily obtained credit has for low-income households.
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    Does access to electricity enable the uptake of small and medium enterprises in South Africa
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2007) Prasad, G; Dieden, S
    South Africa increased its electrification coverage from 36% to over 70% in the last 12 years. Predominantly poor areas, to which service provision was neglected in the past, got access to electricity. The socio-political benefits of the national electrification programme are documented, but the economic benefits which are generally assumed have not yet been analysed in detail. This paper explores how far existing surveys provide data on the impact of electrification on the uptake of small and medium enterprises or self-employment among households. We analyse nationwide household survey data from 1995 to 2004. Variation in electrification rates among households seems correlated with SMME uptake, but the nature of the association varies across regions and appears to display differing trends over time. A trend of positive correlation of SMMEs and electricity access in poor rural areas does seem apparent.
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    An economic and financial evaluation of the health benefits of electrification
    (1995) Delport, Jaco; Hartzenburg, Trudi
    The health benefits of a national household electrification programme are investigated. Cognisance is taken of the lack of utilisation of electricity by newly electrified households. The impact of electrification on air pollution levels and paraffin utilisation is investigated to establish the effect on morbidity due to respiratory infection, paraffln poisoning and bums. The reduced demand for health services stemming from a reduction in morbidity is quantified and its macroeconomic implications investigated. The implications that the results of this quantification process holds for the financing requirements of a national household electrification programme as well as the microeconomic factors underlying the success of such a programme are highlighted. Chapter 1 outlines the methodology that will be used to firstly establish the expected switch to electricity as sole energy-carrier by newly electrified households, secondly to establish the health implications of such a switch, and thirdly to quantify these health implications. Chapter 2 reports the results of the modelling exercise, chapter 3 the resulting health implications and chapter 4 the quantification process. Chapter 5 looks at the macroeconomic implications of the health benefits of electrification. Chapter 6 investigates the impact of the results of this thesis on the financing requirements of the electrification programme. Bibliography: pages 63-68.
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    Electrification financing and tariffs: international literature review
    (1993) Eberhard, Anton; Mountain, Bruce; Pickering, Mark; van Horen, Clive
    This report was commissioned by the National Electrification Forum (NELF}. It is a review of international experience in electricity pricing, funding and financial management. The purpose of the report is to assess how these issues have affected electrification programmes in developing countries and to draw conclusions which will assist NELF in establishing appropriate electricity pricing and financing policies for South Africa. A successful electrification programme which enables widened access to electricity is ultimately dependent on the creation and maintenance of a financially viable electricity distribution industry. Financial viability is, in tum, crucially dependent on appropriate pricing and financing policies and financial management practices. The report is based on an extensive review of international literature. The review of electricity pricing commences with a discussion on pricing policies, the principles of economic efficiency and marginal cost-based prices. Some of the difficulties of this approach are highlighted, and additional, often more pressing, pricing objectives are noted, including the imperative of prices which will allow financial viability and prices which will achieve greater equity. Actual practice in developing countries is then examined with regard to tariff levels and structures. Tariff levels are compared with long run marginal costs, generally being much lower in developing countries. The tariff structures discussed include inclining block, single flat rate, two-part, unmetered and time-of-use tariffs. The question of subsidies is raised as well as the problems of implementing equitable life-line tariffs.
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    Estimating greenhouse gas emissions associated with achieving universal access to electricity in South Africa
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2012) Tait, Louise; Winkler, Harald
    Climate change, energy security and achieving universal electricity access for all households are all pressing issues that South Africa must address. These objectives need not be trade-offs, however, and achieving electricity access for the poor does not justify the building of large coal-fired power stations or threaten South Africa’s climate change objectives. This paper estimates the electricity demand from the residential sector to 2020 resulting from universal access, and finds that electricity for low-income households would constitute only a small addition to total electricity demand and would represent only a minor portion of output from the coal-fired power station, Medupi. Furthermore, emissions from the additional electricity consumed by newly connected households would have a negligible impact on South Africa’s emissions profile.
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    Geographic Information Systems for electrification: scoping study
    (1998) Trollip, Hilton
    Because this is a short scoping study with only 15 days allocated to its production the initial discussions with the most important stakeholders and the round 1 of interviews were used to provide a tight focus for the project. The main area that has been chosen as the focus is institutional issues relevant to GIS for electrification as follows: 1. Access to data for GIS 2. Data maintenance 3. Financial and intellectual property aspects related to the above three issues. 4. In addition to these institutional issues the project will attempt to give an indication of the extent of agreement on data content in two ways. Firstly, a list of the most basic data required over the first phase of use of GIS for electrification policy and implementation. Secondly, a list of data required in the subsequent phase which may require more detailed data.
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    Investigating the current and future role of paraffin in South Africa
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2013) Tait, Louise; Merven, Bruno; Senatla, Mamahloko
    This research investigates what the future of paraffin could and should be in South Africa, in particular whether this could be envisioned as transforming paraffin into a safe fuel for households. Alternatively, might South Africa look to assist households with a transition towards other modern fuels.
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    Rural electrification: a study on funding for rural electrification in Venda
    (1994) Lithole, Chris
    The purpose of the study was to investigate the funding of rural electrification in Venda. Venda is an area which is mostly rural, with less than 5% of the population staying in an urban area. About 12% of the rural population has electricity, i.e.only 9689 households have electricity, whereas 99,9% of urban dwellers have electricity. Venda Electricity Corporation claims most of these villages are far from the grid, hence it is costly to electrify these areas. It is therefore hoped that the findings of this study would have helped in establishing the extent of electrification and identifying the sources of capital for electrification in Venda.
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    Rural Energy and Development: improving energy supplies for 2 billion people: a World Bank best practice paper (Draft)
    (1996) World Bank
    This paper envisages a renewed commitment by the World Bank to support its member countries' efforts to extend modem energy supplies to populations still without them and to promote the sustainable supply and use of biofuels for as long as they remain important sources of energy. Modem energy is defined to include new forms of renewable energy. The purposes of the paper are threefold. First, it argues why meeting the energy needs of rural-and also unserved urban- populations is a priority for sustainable economic development. Second, it reviews twenty-five years of experience with rural energy programs in developing countries; it finds that notwithstanding some mistakes, in any approaches are working well and provide an excellent basis for a substantial expansion of effort to address rural energy problems. Third, it seeks to disseminate and share these lessons of experience with others on whom much responsibility will fall for the implementation of policies; indeed, the preparation of the paper itself entailed extensive sharing of experiences between representatives of the Bank, industry, and numerous governmental and nongovernmental organizations.