10 Years After: Long-term Adoption of Electricity in Rural Rwanda

Power grid extension into hitherto unconnected areas is high on the policy agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, connection rates and electricity consumption remain low in rural grid-covered areas, at least in the short and medium run. This paper provides a long-term follow-up on an evaluation of a large grid extension program in rural Rwanda. We study the adoption of grid electricity over time using a panel of 41 communities that were electrified up to ten years ago. We triangulate our own survey data with administrative consumption data. We find that in connected communities, almost half of the households remain unconnected. Electricity consumption and appliance use are low and did not grow over time. It is therefore difficult to justify investments into grid-based rural electrification by economic development impacts and cost-benefit considerations. Rights-based arguments rooted in equity and fairness considerations may provide a more compelling yet controversial justification for such investments.