Repurposing electricity access research for the global south: a tale of many disconnects

[Formula presented]Dr. Monyei is currently a research fellow on energy policy and sustainable decarbonization at the University of the West of England, where he works as a researcher and consultant on issues pertaining to sustainable energy systems modeling. Specifically, his research spans core electrical engineering, the social sciences, and computer science and focuses on sustainable development, integration of renewable energy systems, smart grid, applied artificial intelligence, energy efficiency, and the design of public policy to help facilitate easy access to electricity and improvement in the resilience of energization systems. [Formula presented]Kingsley O. Akpeji received his BSc(Eng) degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 2014 and the MSc(Eng) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2019. He is currently a teaching and research assistant at the Department of Electrical Engineering, UCT. His passion for a just energy transition and the alleviation of energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa reflects in his research on decentralized electricity supply systems, cost of interruptions of electricity supply to commercial and industrial end-users, and sustainable electrification frameworks and policies. This paper highlights important issues related to electrification in the Global South (subsequently referred to as the region). The challenges and misconceptions around sustainable electrification in the region—in particular, Sub-Saharan Africa—are succinctly discussed. Several readily implementable solutions are suggested to reduce the vagueness of electrification policies and failure of electrification projects and improve electricity access in the region.