The false optimism of electrification: why universal electricity access has not delivered urban energy transformation in South Africa

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorLemanski, Charlotte
dc.contributor.authorde Groot, Jiska
dc.contributor.authorHaque, Anika Nasra
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-11T07:33:47Z
dc.date.available2025-04-11T07:33:47Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractUniversal access to energy is a global priority, increasingly delivered through grid-tied and off-grid infrastructure. However, energy policies frequently conflate universal access with extending and subsidising networked electricity, resulting in technology-dominated approaches. Rapid urbanisation in the global south has outstripped infrastructure capacity, where urban dwellers' access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable forms of energy are precarious. This failure to reflect human needs and societal expectations alongside technical considerations is threatening the sustainability of urban energy transitions. This paper draws from qualitative data with low-income urban dwellers and municipal policymakers to critically examine South Africa's energy access policies. We demonstrate how prioritising ‘electricity for all’ via grid connections fails to deliver universal access to affordable energy. First, the state's emphasis on extending and subsidising networked electricity prioritises proximity to grid connections rather than access to energy services, and permanently excludes households living in un-serviceable structures/settlements. Second, limited community participation produces a policy that ignores low-income households' urban practices and creates perverse incentives to distort energy consumption. We argue that delivering an urban energy transition that is economically feasible, locally appropriate and socially desirable requires policy expansion beyond physical delivery, working with targeted communities on policy development, knowledge exchange, and capacity building.
dc.identifier.citationLemanski, C., Haque, A.N., de Groot, J. and McAskill, N., 2025. The false optimism of electrification: why universal electricity access has not delivered urban energy transformation in South Africa. Energy policy, 198, p.114506.
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114506
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10566/20337
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier Ltd
dc.subjectElectrification
dc.subjectEnergy policy
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.subjectUniversal energy access
dc.subjectCape Town
dc.titleThe false optimism of electrification: why universal electricity access has not delivered urban energy transformation in South Africa
dc.typeArticle

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
lemanski_the_false_optimism_2025.pdf
Size:
1.55 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Research Articles (Political Studies)