A World without Poverty: Psycho-Socio-Economic Impacts of Village Mini-Grids on Rural Women in Nigeria

Abstract

The thrust of the human civilization and social innovation include “grid and off-grid” electrification of often neglected communities in developing nations like Nigeria. For instance, the distribution of hydro-electric supply in Nigeria is the responsibility of the Federal Government through Power Holding Corporations of Nigeria (PHCN). Though currently privatized, this arm of the government has been unable to meet the growing demands of electricity supply in the nations fast growing urban centers (e.g. Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Kano and Port-Harcourt). It has also been unable to successfully extend its national grid reach through feeder pillars to all of the urban-fringes and rural communities in the country. This therefore calls for a need to reconsider alternative means of energy generation for the sub-urban and rural dwellers in Nigeria. Many of the rural and suburban dwellers engage in informal sector activities which are extensive, weakly developed economic activities with low level of investment and characterized by heavy reliance on family or friends for capital. These make industrialization in both the rural and urban-fringes to lag far behind the rate of urbanization due to hydroelectric energy crises.  Hence, the need for this paper on the creation of a world without poverty through social innovations and rethinking of distributed electricity generation from renewable technologies, such as wind turbines and solar photovoltaic cells in Nigeria.