Framework for Countries Evaluating Gas-to-Power Pathways - Goal 3: Achieving Universal Access to Electricity

Key messages
 

• New gas power plants could provide electricity to a subset of people living without power in a relatively small group of countries. But some gas proponents are overselling it as a fuel for achieving universal electricity access.
• Progress toward universal access increasingly depends on further electrification in Africa, where gas power has limited growth potential. Solar and wind power come with their own challenges, but countries should consider renewables as primary solutions for reaching unserved households and businesses.
• Electricity from large on-grid solar and wind farms or off-grid systems like mini-grids and rooftop solar can be expensive for new, lower-income electricity consumers. Yet renewables have potentially growing advantages over gas power when it comes to affordability and reliability.
• The true cost of gas power or renewables is not just financial. Decision-makers should consider the broader social and environmental impacts of building and running new power infrastructure—and the potential benefits for people.
• Before supporting new gas power or renewables, officials and investors should consider everyone’s needs, especially the unserved. Responding to these needs fosters social acceptance, supports new technologies, and creates conditions for their growth.
• Countries with electrification challenges need more support from international financial institutions. Current funding is insufficient; these actors must both help to attract private investors and finance essential infrastructure that private funders will not—like batteries and electrical grids.