Njeri Wamukonya

Power sector reform in developing countries: mismatched agendas

Power sector reform is rapidly spreading across all corners of the developing world at an alarmingly rapid pace. While the rationales for reform seem to have gained acceptance among the stakeholders, the reform model and process are contested. This paper examines the impacts of reform using the promised outcomes as a basis for analysis. The ability of reform to meet the developmental challenges facing the reformers is explored. It concludes that reform has had some achievements if conventional performance indicators are used but also questions the validity of some of these indicators. Reform has however not fulfilled many of its goals and the prevailing recipes are likely to leave developing countries socially and economically worse off than in the pre-reform period. Progressive government intervention is needed to shift reform process towards a more responsible development path.

Socio-economic impacts of rural electrification in Namibia: comparisons between grid, solar and unelectrified households

The use of solar home systems is widely recommended as a more viable alternative to grid extension in rural areas of developing countries. However, despite a large body of literature on the impacts of grid electrification, very few studies have compared the relative socio-economic impacts of these two technical approaches. This paper reports on such a study conducted in Namibia where the government has promoted both options in its rural electrification programme. It was found that the principal benefit of both forms of electrification lay in access to high-quality lighting as well as the use of television. Despite the supply limitations of the relatively small solar systems in place, it is concluded that, under the circumstances found in Namibia, both technologies provide a similar level of benefit. Given that grid electrification costs are considerably greater than the costs of providing solar home systems, there is merit in encouraging approaches that treat the subsidisation of these two technologies more evenly.

RESIDE0NTIAL SOLAR WATER HEATING AS A POTENTIAL CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM PROJECT: A SOUTH AFRICAN CASE STUDY

A community-based Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project – asolar water heating project in a low-income community in South Africa –is analysed to illustrate the methodological and policy challenges that faceimplementation of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change. We evaluate four baseline options, andthree potential CDM interventions. The emissions reductions range from –670 to +5 929 Mg CO2 per year, with all option but oneshowing positive emission reductions. Using metered solar water heatingwith liquefied petroleum gas back-up as the CDM intervention, and electricstorage geysers as the baseline, the annual emissions reductions are 5686 Mg CO2. The cost-effectiveness from the national perspective,which is the incremental life cycle costs divided by the lifetime emissionsreductions, is –

Gender Angle to the Climate Change Negotiations

18 per Mg CO2 From the perspective of theCDM investor, however, the cost-effectiveness is

The uneven road for the non-grid programme in South Africa

5.2 per mgCO2, assuming that the investor receives all of the carbon credits forproviding the incremental capital investment. From our analysis, weconclude that using the current technology (kerosene stoves) as a baselineis probably not appropriate because it does not reflect likely future trendsand also penalises the community for their poverty and current lack ofinfrastructure. We also highlight the importance of credit sharing, and howit affects the cost-effectiveness of the project from the CDM investorsperspective. The lessons from this analysis are important for the currentinternational policy debate on how to preferentially treat small-scale CDMprojects.

RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKETS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The South is likely to suffer more from climate change than the North due to its already vulnerable situation and lack of the necessary resources to adapt to change. But do the interests of men and of women differ as regards climate change and does this have a South-North dimension? This paper attempts to establish whether gender issues need to be addressed in the climate change debate. Towards this goal, a number of different issues within the climate change debate, in particular the instruments proposed, are analysed. These include responsibility for emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), studies on vulnerability to the effects of climate change, mitigation of emissions, capacity building for participation in flexible mechanisms and adaptation to climate change. We conclude that while there are many gender angles related to the climate change convention and the instruments therein, some are more strategic than others. There is little to be gained by looking at the responsibility for emissions on a gendered basis. But in mitigation activities, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), capacity building, technology transfer, vulnerability studies and projects for adaptation, the poor, the majority of who are women, should be targeted and active participants in decision-making.

Solar home system electrification as a viable technology option for Africa's development ☆

The South African government is committed to universal access to electricity. Since this goal cannot be met via grid electrification, the government is investing in levelling the playing-field between grid and non-grid technologies. A non-grid rural electrification programme was launched in early 1999 in which subsidies are provided to enable private companies to electrify rural areas. However, though companies were selected in April 1999, none of these had started operating by October 2000. This article discusses the process from commencement of the programme until October 2000. The roles of various stakeholders are outlined and the key activities undertaken within the programme are presented.