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Paradoxical impacts of electricity on life in a rural South African village

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  • Matinga, Margaret Njirambo
  • Annegarn, Harold J.

Abstract

Debates on the nexus between energy and development emphasise that access to modern energy carriers such as electricity improve development outcomes. This paper discusses the impacts of electrification on educational outcomes, gender and power relations, income generation, feelings of inclusion and exclusion and health in the village of Tsilitwa in the rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is based on an ethnographic grounded theory study conducted in 2009. The paper shows that the impacts of electricity may not match the benefits cited in the literature, and are not experienced in the same way by everyone in the community. The study uncovers the weakness of ignoring individual and group agency, and the complexity of social settings when advocating interventions to improve quality of life. The paper recommends that researchers and policymakers consider using ethnographic methods to complement other methods and reveal context and its implications on the energy–development nexus that other methods may not capture.

Suggested Citation

  • Matinga, Margaret Njirambo & Annegarn, Harold J., 2013. "Paradoxical impacts of electricity on life in a rural South African village," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 295-302.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:58:y:2013:i:c:p:295-302
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.03.016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hirmer, Stephanie & Cruickshank, Heather, 2014. "The user-value of rural electrification: An analysis and adoption of existing models and theories," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 145-154.
    2. Jon Phillips & Saska Petrova, 2021. "The materiality of precarity: Gender, race and energy infrastructure in urban South Africa," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(5), pages 1031-1050, August.
    3. Matinga, Margaret N. & Pinedo-Pascua, Irene & Vervaeke, Jonathan & Monforti-Ferrario, Fabio & Szabó, Sándor, 2014. "Do African and European energy stakeholders agree on key energy drivers in Africa? Using Q methodology to understand perceptions on energy access debates," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 154-164.
    4. Elias Hartvigsson & Erik Oscar Ahlgren & Sverker Molander, 2020. "Tackling complexity and problem formulation in rural electrification through conceptual modelling in system dynamics," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 141-153, January.
    5. Kasnaeny Karim & Muhammad Jibril Tajibu & Akhmad Akhmad, 2021. "Determination of Consumer Switching Barriers to Use Prepaid Electricity Systems in the Household Sector in Makassar, Indonesia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(1), pages 193-199.
    6. Kirchhoff, Hannes & Strunz, Kai, 2019. "Key drivers for successful development of peer-to-peer microgrids for swarm electrification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(C), pages 46-62.
    7. Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa & Jacques Simon Song & Marie Laure Onguene Belomo, 2022. "Does ICT diffusion contribute to women's political empowerment in Africa?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(3), pages 339-355, September.
    8. Onu, Uchenna Godswill & Zambroni de Souza, Antonio Carlos & Bonatto, Benedito Donizeti, 2023. "Drivers of microgrid projects in developed and developing economies," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    9. Kaoma, Humphrey & Shackleton, Charlie M., 2015. "The direct-use value of urban tree non-timber forest products to household income in poorer suburbs in South African towns," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 104-112.
    10. Zhang, Tong & Shi, Xunpeng & Zhang, Dayong & Xiao, Junji, 2019. "Socio-economic development and electricity access in developing economies: A long-run model averaging approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 223-231.
    11. Tim Cholibois, 2020. "Electrifying the ‘eighth continent’: exploring the role of climate finance and its impact on energy justice and equality in Madagascar’s planned energy transition," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 345-364, July.
    12. Pradhan Shrestha, Rosy & Jirakiattikul, Sopin & Lohani, Sunil Prasad & Shrestha, Mandip, 2023. "Perceived impact of electricity on productive end use and its reality: Transition from electricity to income for rural Nepalese women," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    13. Mohammad Jahangir Alam & Shinji Kaneko, 2019. "The Effects of Electrification on School Enrollment in Bangladesh: Short- and Long-Run Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-26, February.
    14. Antonella Mazzone, 2022. "Gender and Energy in International Development: Is There a Return of the ‘Feminization’ of Poverty Discourse?," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 65(1), pages 17-28, March.

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