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Many developing countries in Africa face a "double tragedy" when it comes to electrification. Electricity access rates are low, while those who have access to electricity face frequent outages. There are ongoing efforts aimed at increasing access to electricity on the continent. However, the need to improve the reliability of electricity supply receives limited attention. Unreliable electricity impacts users by limiting electricity utilization and the benefits that should accrue from having an electricity connection. Using data from 496 household survey questionnaires, this study examines the impacts of electricity outages in urban households in Accra, Ghana. The study applies correlation and regression analyses to identify which household characteristics are associated with or predict households reporting outage impacts. Outages were found to impact household safety/security, access to food, and access to social services and were found to cause appliance damage as well. Factors that are significantly correlated with reporting certain outage impacts include respondent's annual income and employment status, frequency of electricity outages, and household size. Significant predictors of reporting outage impacts are socioeconomic disadvantage, high exposure to outages, and living in a large family setting. The study's findings underscore the need for interventions to eliminate, or at least minimize, electricity supply interruptions in developing countries if sustainable social and economic development is to be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity is considered a fundamental service which is highly correlated with sustainable development. Nigeria will serve as a case study that has been experiencing an energy deficit, and severely needs a strong adoption of alternative energy sources. This paper provides a detailed assessment of a grid-connected photovoltaic/wind/biogas hybrid energy system in the northern part of Nigeria using a combined Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER), Microsoft Excel, and Ganzleitliche Bilanz (GaBi) tools. They are based on techno-economic modeling and optimization as well as comparison with the same configuration in its off-grid form. Sensitivity analysis as well as an energy efficiency assessment of the proposed grid-connected system was carried out, followed by a supplementary economic benefit assessment of a system switch over and an evaluation of the impacts of life cycle emissions. A wrap-up reliability assessment based on the utility grid status quo and policy implications was also carried out. The results of the analysis for the grid-connected system showed a 3% increase in the overall energy supply, and a 68% and 85% decrease in net present costs (NPC) and levelized costs of energy (LCOE), respectively, with avoided emissions as compared to its comparable off-grid configuration. Moreover, the energy efficiency (EE) determined for the proposed grid-connected system resulted in a massive reduction in the component sizing, energy supply, and an ultimate 88% and 81% reduction in overall NPC and LCOE, respectively. The sensitivity analysis as well as the other supplementary evaluations indicated clear impacts on the different performance measures. This approach is worthy of adoption coupled with expansions for an effective solution to the energy deficit and its sustainability in the case study country. This could be successfully provided if all the reliability concerns for the utility grid and policy measures are addressed significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]