Abstract:
The decrease of energy poverty serves as the foundation for responding to the appeal of achieving
the SDGs, notably Goal 7. Most of the rural population in underdeveloped and developing nations,
including Lesotho, is distinguished by a heavy reliance on unclean energy sources. Different
nations have started rural electrification projects and programmes to try stop this, but people still
use unclean fuels to cook. This dissertation presents the findings of a study on the Thabana-Morena
community's persistent reliance on unclean energy sources for heating and cooking despite having
access to electricity. Data from ten communities in the two community councils in Thabana-
Morena was gathered to obtain a comprehensive picture. Five villages from the Koti-Se-Phola
Community Council: Ha-Lekoatsa, Ha-Bofihla, Machafela, Ha-Konote, and Majakaneng; and five
villages from the Malumeng Community Council: Malumeng, Ha-Sebaki, Ha-Sekhele, Ha-
Tutupu, and Ha-Tjoobe. Semi-structured interviews were used in these communities for data
collection. Due to the study's qualitative nature, the obtained data was evaluated and analysed
utilising a thematic approach. Owing to a variety of social, economic, and cultural factors, the
research showed that households in Thabana-Morena still do not use electricity as their primary
source of energy for heating and cooking. Therefore, the study concluded that expanding the
electricity grid to the rural areas is somewhat a gamble because it is impossible to for forecast
whether people will choose it as their source of energy for cooking.
