Tariff Structures to Encourage Micro-Grid Deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Review and Recent Trends
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
This article reviews trends for micro-grid tariffs in Sub-Saharan Africa from two perspectives: guidelines for setting tariffs and methods for structuring tariffs. Different approaches are briefly described, and general benefits and drawbacks presented based on recent experiences and available literature. The pace of micro-grid deployment has suffered from a lack of private sector investment, which is often inhibited by unfavorable policies and uncertainty around tariffs. Traditional utility tariffs are too low to allow micro-grid investors to recover their full costs, but a variety of new approaches can be applied to address these challenges. Broad consensus suggests that cost-reflective tariffs are a critical enabler for micro-grid scale-up. Such tariffs can be coupled with subsidies or with hybridized approaches as well as unique new methods of tapping alternative revenue streams to maintain affordability for low-income customers and financial sustainability for micro-grids. There is no one-size-fits-all approach so long as lifetime costs can be recouped.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Power Africa; United States Agency for International Development (USAID); USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1466565
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-7A40-71911
- Journal Information:
- Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, Vol. 5, Issue 3; ISSN 2196-3010
- Publisher:
- SpringerCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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