Rural electrification and energy poverty in Thabana-Morena

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.