06 August 2012 With its high poverty levels and low degree of
industrialization, Africa arguably faces the largest development
gap of any region. Beyond the usual misery indices and welfare
evaluation metrics, we have fundamental challenges that impede
meaningful sustainable development. Energy is an
incontrovertible challenge across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Data
from the World Bank and International Energy Agency (IEA) on
energy poverty does not make for good visuals. Two out of three
of SSA households—585 million people—live without electricity.
In stark contrast, 99 percent of North African households have
electricity supply. Only 14 percent of rural SSA households are
linked to the grid. This compares unfavorably with Latin America
where 74 percent of rural households are connected to power. The
figures mask a more disturbing fact about electricity supply in
most SSA countries: a high frequency of blackouts and unstable
power supply. The World Bank estimates that SSA households
experienced 91 days of bla