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Institutional Innovation in the Management of Pro-Poor Energy Access in East Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Lorenz Gollwitzer

    (SPRU (Science Policy Research Unit), School of Business Management and Economics, University of Sussex, UK)

  • David Ockwell

    (Department of Geography, ESRC STEPS Centre, Sussex Energy Group and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, UK)

  • Adrian Ely

    (SPRU (Science Policy Research Unit), ESRC STEPS Centre, School of Business Management and Economics, University of Sussex, UK)

Abstract

This paper articulates a new theoretical perspective on the management of rural mini-grids for facilitating pro-poor electricity access in developing countries. Bridging the literature on common pool resource (CPR) management/collective action (including its application to irrigation systems) with the hydraulic analogy for explaining the behaviour of electricity in closed electrical circuits, a refined theoretical framework is produced for analysing the socio-cultural institutional conditions for sustainable management of rural mini-grids. The utility of the framework is demonstrated via empirical analysis of mini-grids in rural Kenya. This yields insights on socio-cultural approaches to addressing challenges relating to sustainable mini-grid management, e.g. seasonality of demand and fair allocation of limited amounts of electricity to different consumers, in ways that are acceptable to, and to some extent also enforced by the entire group of diverse resource users. The paper contributes to both the literatures on sustainable CPR management/collective action and the literature on pro-poor sustainable energy access in developing countries, providing a novel theoretical and empirical contribution to the emerging socio-cultural turn in the latter.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenz Gollwitzer & David Ockwell & Adrian Ely, 2015. "Institutional Innovation in the Management of Pro-Poor Energy Access in East Africa," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-29, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:sru:ssewps:2015-29
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Petersen, Alexander M. & Rotolo, Daniele & Leydesdorff, Loet, 2016. "A triple helix model of medical innovation: Supply, demand, and technological capabilities in terms of Medical Subject Headings," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 666-681.
    2. Emily Cox, 2015. "Opening the Black Box of Energy Security: A Study of Conceptions of Electricity Security in the UK," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-37, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    3. Friedemann Polzin & Steve Sorrell & Colin Nolden, 2015. "Innovative Procurement Frameworks for Energy Performance Contracting in the UK Public Sector," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-31, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    4. Bissiri, M. & Moura, P. & Figueiredo, N.C. & Silva, P.P., 2020. "Towards a renewables-based future for West African States: A review of power systems planning approaches," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Namujju, Lillian Donna & Acquah-Swanzy, Henrietta & Ngoti, Irene F., 2023. "An IAD framework analysis of minigrid institutions for sustainable rural electrification in East Africa: A comparative study of Uganda and Tanzania," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

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