Accelerating Sustainable Electricity Access in Sub-Saharan Africa

The briefing identifies high costs, slow off-grid market growth, and uncoordinated planning as the primary barriers to electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa. It recommends that governments adopt integrated resource plans that combine utility-led energy efficiency, solar-hybrid systems, and private sector-driven off-grid programs to meet growing energy demands while mitigating future carbon emissions.

• As of 2013, 68% of households in sub-Saharan Africa, representing over 600 million people, lacked access to electricity.
• Sub-Saharan Africa's electricity consumption is projected to reach 1,600 terawatt-hours by 2040, a volume equivalent to the 2013 combined consumption of Latin America and the Caribbean or the output of over 600 large 500MW coal power plants.
• Three primary challenges hinder rapid electricity access: high costs of grid electricity (often due to reliance on expensive diesel), slow growth in the off-grid market, and a lack of coordinated planning between public, private, and development sectors.
• To reduce grid operation costs, the document recommends deploying utility-led energy efficiency programs, investing in solar-plus-diesel hybrid systems to replace pure diesel rentals, and reducing transmission and distribution losses and congestion.
• Governments can accelerate off-grid market growth by implementing private sector-driven programs that address affordability gaps through subsidies or financing, increase consumer awareness in areas not slated for grid connection within five years, and establish supportive policies for imports and quality products.

APA

RMI (2016). Accelerating Sustainable Electricity Access in Sub-Saharan Africa. https://rmi.org/resources/accelerating-sustainable-electricity-access-sub-saharan-africa/

Chicago

RMI. Accelerating Sustainable Electricity Access in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2016. https://rmi.org/resources/accelerating-sustainable-electricity-access-sub-saharan-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Accelerating Sustainable Electricity Access in Sub-Saharan Africa |date=8 June 2016 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/accelerating-sustainable-electricity-access-sub-saharan-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2016accelerating, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Accelerating Sustainable Electricity Access in Sub-Saharan Africa}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/accelerating-sustainable-electricity-access-sub-saharan-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }