• Article

• 20 Nov 2020

The Covid-19 crisis is reversing progress on energy access in Africa

…resulting in a lack of financing available for expanding and improving electricity infrastructure. In Uganda, for instance, public subsidies for the electricity access programme have been put on hold, while in South Africa, authorities had to redirect funds to health and welfare programmes and facilities at the expense of expanding rural electrification.Furthermore, private companies deploying decentralised energy solutions like solar home systems and mini-grids have faced operational and financial challenges because of the pandemic. In large countries like Ethiopia, lockdown measures have affected distribution chains and reduced sales by 20% in the first half of 2020 compared with…