Implementing SDG7 in the Informal Settlements: The Case of Accra, Ghana

This project will study electricity delivery and use in informal settlements in Accra, Ghana to understand how the nation might meet SDG7. More specifically, this project will:

1. Study electricity provision and its challenges in Accra.
2. Assess the current means by which residents and workers in informal settlements are accessing electricity, what they are paying for electricity, and substitutes.
3. Explore innovations currently being undertaken in informal settlements of Accra and elsewhere.
4. Develop policy guidance for electricity provision in informal settlements.

Grant Result

More than a billion people worldwide live in informal settlements and lack proper access to energy. This case study explores energy poverty in the slums of Accra, Ghana, where illegal electrical hookups are the norm. How can we reverse this trend while providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy to all?

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Eugenie Birch

Lawrence C. Nussdorf Chair of Urban Research and Education

Eugénie L. Birch is co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Chair of Urban Research and Education, and chair of the Graduate Group in City and Regional Planning.

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