Wen, C orcid.org/0000-0003-3546-9813, Lovett, JC orcid.org/0000-0002-5839-3770, Kwayu, EJ et al. (1 more author) (2023) Off-grid households’ preferences for electricity services: policy implications for mini-grid deployment in rural Tanzania. Energy Policy, 172. 113304. ISSN 0301-4215
Abstract
Mini-grids play a critical role in providing electricity to remote, off-grid communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, success of mini-grid projects can be hindered by poor cash flows and limited revenue returns. A clear understanding of off-grid households’ preferences for electricity services is a prerequisite for mini-grid stakeholders to set tariff structures and stimulate income-generating power demand to scale up mini-grid deployment. This study conducted a choice experiment survey in two off-grid villages targeted by new mini-grid projects in Tanzania to reveal heterogeneity in households’ preferences for multiple electricity service attributes. We found that households’ heterogeneous preferences were significantly associated with demographic (e.g. gender), socioeconomic (e.g. ownership of TV), and energy-related behavioural characteristics (e.g. charging devices away from home). We suggest that service-based, tiered tariffs and business models can be designed to cater for the heterogeneous demands and preferences of different segments of customers. Successful deployment of mini-grids needs to consider the competition from the existing solar home systems and focus on the provision of higher tiers of electricity services. Gender equality issues should be addressed in rural electrification efforts given the significantly greater vulnerability of female-led households to higher electricity fees.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Energy access, Micro-grid, Willingness to pay, Stated preference, Multi-tier framework |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Ecology & Global Change (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/R030243/1 Royal Society AQ150063 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 25 Oct 2022 10:42 |
Last Modified: | 30 May 2023 22:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113304 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:192316 |