World Energy Outlook 2007

Access to Modern Energy
China has alleviated energy poverty on a scale and at a pace seen nowhere else.
In the early 1980s, a large fraction of the country’s mainly rural population had
barely enough fuel for basic cooking and heating needs and no access to electricity.
Thanks to rising incomes and a rigorous policy of making modern energy services
available to the entire population, all but around 10 million households now have
some access to electricity; and LPG, biogas and natural gas are distributed in a
growing number of towns and cities. Improved stoves are also widely available
though, unfortunately, not always used as intended: frequently, improved biomass
stoves that burn efficiently and vent smoke outside the home are left idle in favour
of small coal briquette stoves that have the advantage of convenience but are often
unvented, worsening indoor air quality.
Box 8.4: Access to Electricity in China
Electrification in China is a remarkable success story. China’s electrification
rate reached 99% in 2005. Solid fuel use for cooking and heating is still
common in rural areas but such fuels are now used in conjunction with
electricity and to a declining degree as incomes rise. Nevertheless, because
of the country’s large total population, the small fraction without
connections still numbers about 10 million people. There is also
uncertainty about the quality of service: a household that uses a single light
bulb is considered just as connected as one that can run a full set of
household appliances.
Nevertheless, the spread of electricity in China dominates the global
electrification picture. Between 1990 and 2005, the number of people
without electricity fell from 2 billion to 1.6 billion worldwide. Excluding
China, the number of people without electricity has grown. To reach the
relevant Millennium Development Goal, the number would need to fall to
less than one billion by 2015.
Electrification rates vary greatly between countries. With similar GDP (PPP)
per capita to China’s, Ukraine has almost 100% electrification while Gabon
has just 48%. India seems to be making good progress but, at an estimated
rate of 62% in 2005, it has a long way to go. China’s success has distinct
features that make it difficult for other countries to replicate. First, other
developing countries will have to depend more on funding from international
partners than China did. Second, schemes providing subsidies and lowinterest
loans to households, which ensured rapid take-up in China, are
difficult to implement in an efficient and equitable way. Third, China’s
programme benefited from the cheap cost of everything from light bulbs to
hydro turbines and generators. This is rarely the case in other developing
countries, which do not have China’s manufacturing capacity.
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