Lack of access, connection to the electric grid still plagues most rural residents in Angola: two-thirds of citizens say government is doing a poor job of providing electricity

In its Power Sector Action Plan, the Angolan government outlines a strategy to achieve a 60% electrification rate by 2025, from a 2020 rate of 47% (República de Angola, 2016; Silva, 2021; World Bank, 2020). That will require major advances in rural areas, where electrification is estimated at less than 10% (International Trade Administration, 2022; Pugliese, 2022). Promoting rural electrification is indispensable to a country’s socioeconomic development and is highlighted in Sustainable Development Goal 7: to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all” by 2030 (United Nations, 2022). By facilitating efficient agricultural production, increases in employment and incomes, improved educational and health outcomes, and cleaner cooking, access to reliable power has been shown to significantly improve the welfare of rural communities (Garrigou, 2017; Grivas, 2021). A recent Afrobarometer survey provides an on-the-ground look at electricity access in Angola. Findings show that while about two-thirds of Angolans live in zones served by the electric grid, fewer than half enjoy a reliable supply of electricity, including just one in 20 rural residents. Electricity ranks sixth on the list of problems that Angolans want their government to address, but most citizens say the government is performing poorly on this priority.