energy for all

It is often overlooked that there are many different ways to provide modern energy access, and even then, there is an evolution of the type of access that people find necessary. Energy access can be said to be a moving target: when incomes rise and/or local conditions change, different solutions become available to people that were not available to them earlier. As an example, a person with a small PV system does not have the same type of access as someone with a grid connection or a stove, although any of these could be the perfect access solution.

To accommodate the evolutionary nature of energy access solutions, the partnership recognizes that access projects must focus simultaneously on a wide range of energy access services, rather than on a one-size-fits-all solution.

But type of energy access should ideally be matched with people's economic conditions and purchasing power. The poorest segment of society, the so called “base of the pyramid,” needs specific attention.

Necessary basic services are cooking/heating, and lighting. For the largest impact, beneficiaries should be allowed to select their own level of energy access entry, requiring energy access projects to provide many different solutions simultaneously.

It makes sense to distinguish between such basic services on the one hand,  and services that enhance the quality of life or can be used to generate more income (productive use of energy) on the other hand such as electricity. The set up of the partnership’s working groups reflect this.

How are the working groups structured?

Energy for all works on the basis of three thematic areas, lighting, cooking and heating and electricity, called thematic working groups. Each thematic working group is facilitated online by one of the Energy for All Secretariat staff.  The first two thematic working groups address the basic needs of lighting and cooking/heating, while the third focuses on electricity access and particularly how productive use and entreprise development can contribute to economic development.

Each large thematic working group is subdivided into working groups according to different technologies and lead by a convener. The convener works closely with the secretariat facilitator in mobilising its members and in organising activities.

The structure can be summarized as follows: