Sustainable rural electrification through community-managed mini-grids: Evidence from Tanzania

Mini-grids are progressively promoted as a viable solution for rural electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, experiences show mixed results, with some struggling to survive and some failing or ceasing operations prematurely. This dissertation integrates evidence from East Africa using the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, Agrawal’s enabling conditions, a sense of ownership analytical framework, and the coupled infrastructure systems (CIS) framework to examine the sustainability and success of containerised solar mini-grids, specifically community-managed ones. It first analyses the sustainability factors independently (Chapters II to IV) and then the contributing factors for the failure of community-managed mini-grids (Chapter V). The first research aim of this dissertation–analysing the institutional frameworks governing mini-grid development and operations in Uganda and Tanzania and identifying key factors contributing to sustainable rural electrification is addressed in Chapter II. In this chapter, mini-grid actors’ interactions, institutional and socio-cultural factors affecting mini-grid sustainability, and comparative mini-grid institutional performance between Uganda and Tanzania were analysed. This chapter gives a macro-level understanding of mini-grid institutions by utilizing the IAD framework from a micro-level. The findings in this chapter demonstrate complex multi-level interactions among mini-grid actors and institutional inefficiencies that can lead to mini-grid failure if not addressed. Chapters III and IV were both involved in addressing the second research aim–investigating the effects of institutional arrangements and community sense of ownership on the sustainable management of community-based mini-grids in Tanzania. This chapter offers an understanding of mini-grids’ sustainability from a micro level by focusing on community-managed mini-grids. With the aid of Agrawal’s enabling conditions and a sense of ownership analytical framework, respectively, strong rules enforcement on maintenance management, and a strong sense of ownership (through tariff payment, decision making, and participation) among mini-grid users are found to be vital for mini-grid sustainability. To identify and analyse the key factors contributing to the failure of solar community-managed mini-grids in Tanzania, Chapter V utilised the CIS framework that demonstrated community-managed mini-grid systems as coupled infrastructure systems. With the help of causal loop diagrams, findings in this chapter show failure of mini-grids is due to the interdependencies across technical, institutional, social, and political (external) factors. While all examined cases exhibited financial challenges in terms of having insufficient balances for maintenance, they were also subjected, with varying intensity, to non-compliant behaviour in paying tariffs, the absence of mini-grid legal ownership, and local political interference. Long-term sustainability of community-managed mini-grids therefore needs to be approached through a systemic lens.