Articles by Tombo Banda
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Guest Articles
Monday
December 16
2024Tombo Banda / Lisa Kahuthu / Miriam Atuya
Making Mini-Grids Work for Everyone: A Tariff Harmonization Pilot in Sierra Leone Reveals the Benefits and Challenges of Lowering Prices
Solar mini-grids offer a promising solution to energy poverty in Africa. But according to Tombo Banda and Lisa Kahuthu at CrossBoundary and Miriam Atuya, this approach has yet to gain sufficient traction, due in part to the challenge of balancing operational sustainability with affordability. If customer tariffs are set too low, operators lack revenue — but if prices are set too high, mini-grid electricity isn’t accessible enough to drive widespread adoption. They share the results of a pilot program in Sierra Leone that tested the impact of lower prices on mini-grid operators and their customers, highlighting the implications for future efforts to implement tariff reduction at scale.
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Guest Articles
Tuesday
October 17
2023Tombo Banda / Charles Sweetland / Faisal Olanipekun
What’s the Most Efficient Way to Deploy Mini-Grid Distribution Infrastructure?: A Study Assesses Different Approaches — And Finds a Clear Winner
Mini-grids have emerged as a viable technology to accelerate energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, but if they hope to become commercially sustainable, their profitability and distribution infrastructure must improve. Tombo Banda, Charles Sweetland and Faisal Olanipekun at CrossBoundary share the preliminary results of a Mini-Grid Innovation Lab study that explores the most efficient ways to deploy a distribution grid, highlighting the benefits and challenges of different approaches.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
