The Current Landscape of Access to Electrical Energy

Universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs7) set for 2023. Although the number of people with access to electricity was close to 91% as of 2021, it is concerning that, according to the energy progress report elaborated by the World Bank and the UN in 2023, 765 million people around the world lack this service.

The goal of taking electrical energy to all people by 2030 is difficult to achieve for several reasons, including high interconnection costs and low demand in certain areas (specially in African countries) stand out. This becomes evident when observing that, in a large number of countries (e.g., Kenya) half of the users consume less than 15 kWh on average, which means losses for the utilities and the impossibility of interconnecting their customers, even if they are close to the generation points.

Electrical microgrids, a solution adopted several decades ago and a supposedly feasible alternative regarding access to electrical energy, has been put into question because many of these systems around the world are sub-utilized for a diversity of reasons, such as communities’ lack of knowledge of this technology and operational issues in certain contexts. Isolated solutions for households involving solar panels, switching converters, and batteries follow the same path. However, these solutions provide energy to households at a high cost, in addition to their inability to supply large and productive loads.

The issue, in general terms, is not only reduced to providing all people with electrical energy to cover basic needs; it is necessary to ensure the provision of other services such as food security, access to water, and sanitary attention, etc. The issue is so complex that, in places where food is cooked by means of energy sources such as wood, coal, and kerosene, which are highly polluting, deadly effects are generated. This translates into approximately three million deaths around the world, according to the WHO.

At this point, it is necessary to rethink the way to generate solutions regarding access to electrical energy that are sustainable in the long term. Designs adjusted to the needs of users must be elaborated, which not only contemplate aspects such as modularity, scalability, flexibility, interoperability, and efficiency, but also social, economic, and cultural aspects, so that the solution is understood by users and is tailored to their requirements.

Ultimately, it is essential to propose a technical-social approach where both scientific and social research centers converge, as well as local actors and the communities with which the corresponding initiatives will be developed. This is in order to create projects that are sustainable and have a positive impact on communities.

This constitutes an opportunity to build an electrical system that is decentralized, tailored to local needs, and supported by electronic conversion and storage technologies that are highly efficient and robust and facilitate a sustainable future for all humanity.