Introduction

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We take electricity for granted in all aspects of our daily life, from work to housework to travel, and yet there are roughly 1.6 billion people in the world without access to electricity. At night these people use oil lamps or candles for light, and use firewood and charcoal for heating and cooking. Electrification rates are particularly low in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where about four out of five people living in farming villages are without electricity.

A trading center waiting for electrification work

What kinds of changes would progress in the electrification of farming villages have on people's lives? To give a few examples, if the patient rooms of a clinic had electric lights, urgent medical care could be given at night, and medicines could be refrigerated. Having light at night would help children to read and study, and electric lamps could increase safety on roads at night. Moreover, if it were possible to use televisions, radios, and mobile telephones, people would be able to obtain a broader range of information. In addition, shops equipped with irrigation facilities and refrigerated places to store vegetables would probably result in provision of added-value services and give rise to new employment.

In these ways, electrification has the potential to improve people's lives. Simply moving ahead with electrification, however, does not mean that people's lives will be automatically improved. In order to use electricity, there has to be construction for interior wiring, and money is needed to purchase electric appliances. In addition, consumers must keep paying electricity charges to continue being supplied with power. Therefore, if electrification plans are not carried out skillfully so that people for whom these sorts of economic burden would be difficult can also reap the benefits, electrification could actually increase disparities.

The challenge is how to sustainably advance rural electrification.

To this end, through efforts to make government plans, create structures to sustain operations, coordinate the roles of the government and power companies, cultivate technicians, and creating systems for operation and maintenance, it is necessary to progress mindfully so that the results of electrification will reach the entire rural area.