Exploring energy access and use trends in Tsumkwe, Namibia : an end-user perspective

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to establish a tangible metric by which to evaluate the impact of modern energy access on the livelihoods of rural Sub-Sahara African communities. The narrative is set in Tsumkwe, a remote rural Namibian location some 596 km north-east from the main capital city Windhoek.Initiatives aimed at rural electrification and energy provision are expected to reduce poverty as well as contribute to the community's general wellbeing. However, determining the relationship between energy and development is quite a challenging undertaking. An analysis that is either exclusively quantitative or qualitative runs the risk of providing a skewed picture of the energy-development-poverty nexus.In this thesis, quantitative data is embedded within qualitative data as an attempt to examine the nexus and to translate how intervention programmes are transformed into outcomes in order to gauge success of a project.The transformative paradigm shaped the theoretical framework and informed the mixed-method research approach while the capability approach was used to analyse plurality and individualisation of policy impacts. Consequently, the role of place is positioned at the centre in gauging experiences of the poor vis-à-vis the importance of locating resources and capabilities to address socio-economic issues within a geographical location.The injustice of energy poverty can be viewed as unequal access to energy services (i.e. distributional injustice) as well as an intervention that failed to recognise the needs of certain groups and potentiality offered by place. From this, the concept of an energy poverty penalty is qualitatively developed. It was found that the penalty, although it is more pronounced in the low income groups, is exacerbated by choice offered in an energy basket thus affecting non-income poor households too. Therefore, the energy poor are not necessarily income-poor.It is finally concluded that while sustainable energy interventions offer the possibility to reduce energy poverty and the attendant human wellbeing index improvement they need to be grounded in a robust information base to track progress towards targets. Most existing indicators and composite indices assessing access to energy, the degree of development related to energy and deprivation of access to modern energy fail to account for the energy poverty trap.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University