Electricity access in Mozambique: A critical policy analysis of investment, service reliability and social sustainability

TY - JOUR

T1 - Electricity access in Mozambique

T2 - A critical policy analysis of investment, service reliability and social sustainability

AU - Salite, Daniela Lidia Jacob

AU - Kirshner, Joshua Daniel

AU - Cotton, Matthew

AU - Howe, Lorraine

AU - Cuamba, Boaventura

AU - Feijó, João

AU - Zefanias Macome, Amélia

N1 - © 2021 The Author(s)

PY - 2021/8/1

Y1 - 2021/8/1

N2 - Mozambique is a resource-rich energy hub, yet rural community access to electricity remains low, and urban centres suffer poor service quality. Aging transmission infrastructure, consumer growth, erratic generation, and extreme weather events exacerbate power cuts and oscillations that disrupt household activities and damage appliances. Through qualitative critical policy analysis of household (n=120) and public/private stakeholder (n=87) interviews in the four largest cities of Mozambique (Maputo, Matola, Beira and Nampula) we assess diverse perspectives on reliability, affordability, and investment/revenue-raising to meet SDG7 to provide clean, modern energy services for all. We find that although electricity tariffs commonly exceed household budgets, they remain politicised and are not cost-reflective – putting the national utility Electricidade de Moçambique E.P. (EDM) into growing debt and imminent insolvency, hindering its ability to ensure reliable, quality and affordable services. We recommend unbundling the electricity sector to enable EDM and the energy regulator (Autoridade Reguladora de Energia – ARENE) to be managed independently, and reducing state-induced inefficiencies that limit their ability to make transparent and fair decisions on tariffs, their institutional capacity and performance, and the development of the power sector.

AB - Mozambique is a resource-rich energy hub, yet rural community access to electricity remains low, and urban centres suffer poor service quality. Aging transmission infrastructure, consumer growth, erratic generation, and extreme weather events exacerbate power cuts and oscillations that disrupt household activities and damage appliances. Through qualitative critical policy analysis of household (n=120) and public/private stakeholder (n=87) interviews in the four largest cities of Mozambique (Maputo, Matola, Beira and Nampula) we assess diverse perspectives on reliability, affordability, and investment/revenue-raising to meet SDG7 to provide clean, modern energy services for all. We find that although electricity tariffs commonly exceed household budgets, they remain politicised and are not cost-reflective – putting the national utility Electricidade de Moçambique E.P. (EDM) into growing debt and imminent insolvency, hindering its ability to ensure reliable, quality and affordable services. We recommend unbundling the electricity sector to enable EDM and the energy regulator (Autoridade Reguladora de Energia – ARENE) to be managed independently, and reducing state-induced inefficiencies that limit their ability to make transparent and fair decisions on tariffs, their institutional capacity and performance, and the development of the power sector.

KW - electricity access

KW - Mozambique

KW - critical policy analysis

KW - SDG7

KW - electricity tariffs

U2 - 10.1016/j.erss.2021.102123

DO - 10.1016/j.erss.2021.102123

M3 - Article

SN - 2214-6296

VL - 78

JO - Energy Research and Social Science

JF - Energy Research and Social Science

M1 - 102123

ER -