Towards responsible and fair pay-as-you-go energy access in sub-Saharan Africa

Tash Perros (), Sam Unsworth, Muez Ali, Iwona Bisaga and Julia Tomei
Additional contact information
Tash Perros: University of Liverpool
Sam Unsworth: Chalmers University of Technology
Muez Ali: University College London
Iwona Bisaga: Independent consultant
Julia Tomei: University College London

Nature Energy, 2024, vol. 9, issue 5, 520-525

Abstract: Abstract Market-based solutions are playing an increasingly important role in advancing the energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa. Here we focus on pay-as-you-go (PAYG) energy systems, a market-based approach that enables users to pay for energy in small amounts. While acknowledging the benefits of PAYG, we draw attention to six areas of concern about its implementation, including the suitability of PAYG business models to serve lower-income households, data collection and use, and the characteristics of PAYG energy providers and investors. We outline an agenda for inclusive PAYG energy systems in a proactive effort to shape a rapidly evolving sector. We hope that by anticipating these risks, we can help ensure that the PAYG sector is appropriately regulated and that its benefits accrue to the intended beneficiaries.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01490-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natene:v:9:y:2024:i:5:d:10.1038_s41560-024-01490-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/nenergy/

DOI: 10.1038/s41560-024-01490-1

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Energy is currently edited by Fouad Khan

More articles in Nature Energy from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().