In 2010, one and a half billion people had no access to electricity at all. Three billion people relied on traditional biomass and coal for cooking. Without access to energy the ability to stay fed, healthy and earn a living is severely compromised. This was the context for Practical Action’s first Poor people’s energy outlook (PPEO) report which calls to the energy community to embrace the concept of ‘Total Energy Access’.
Using new research from Practical Action’s country offices and existing case studies from other organisations, the report presents the perspectives of those living in energy poverty and practitioners working to end it. The PPEO 2010 has a particular focus on the energy that people need in the home and it also establishes a broad framework for achieving universal energy access. It identifies six key service areas and proposes a minimum set of standards that should be met in each of the following areas:
- Lighting
- Cooking and water heating
- Space heating
- Cooling
- Information and communications
- Earning a living
The PPEO 2010 recognises that energy access can't be achieved by the formal energy sector alone. It proposes that governments, civil society and private organisations work together as part of an ‘ecosystem’ towards the creation of universal energy access by 2030.
