What will be the global electrification rate in 2020?

One quarter of the world's population (1.6 billion people) do not have access to electricity in their homes. Over 80% of these people live in rural areas of the developing world, especially in peripheral urban and isolated rural areas. In Sub Saharan Africa, only 8% of the rural population has access to electricity. The lack of electricity deprives people of basic necessities such as lighting and communication, but also hampers productivity and economic development in these areas. Activities are limited to daylight hours. Access to electricity can free large amounts of human time and labour and promote better health and education.

Despite these benefits, coverage rate remain very low across most developing countries. Main reason is that supplying electricity to rural areas is considerably more expensive than electricity supply to urban areas. Consequently, utilities have been reluctant to extend the service to rural areas. In many cases, governmental support was needed to make rural electrification feasible. Another reason is that people living in unelectrified rural areas are often considered not to be able or willing to pay for electricity. Various reports, however, demonstrated that consumer willingness to pay for electricity is almost always at or even above supply cost.

It is expected that between now and 2030, world electricity demand will double where electrification rates are not keeping up with the population growth. A total capital investment of $ 8.1 trillion is needed in the period until 2030 for developing countries to meet their energy demand. Will there be sufficient investment to increase the level of electrification and meet the energy demand of the rural population?

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