ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of power infrastructure in poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa within the broad context of economic empowerment in the continent. The current state of power infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa is a microcosm of the challenges and opportunities facing the region in the twenty-first century. Transitioning to modern energy sources is critical for sub-Saharan Africa. Modern energy sources are essential for heating, cooking, and lighting, and children in families with modern resources such as electricity can study longer, which normally translates to a rise in education levels. The chapter discusses some of sub-Saharan Africa's goals of policy, such as energy affordability for poverty alleviation, energy accessibility, research and knowledge sharing, energy security and capacity, energy price volatility, and the use of environmentally friendly energy sources and technologies. The capacity of affordability of energy is the ability of a household to maintain current energy expenditures without needing to devote an additional share of their budget to energy supply.
