Electricity inequalities

Electricity access distribution is highly unequal across Ethiopia and in particular the difference between urban and rural access is striking. Urban electrification reached 94 percent by 2022–2023, while rural access remained far lower at around 20–45 percent, contributing to a national average of 55.4 percent in 2023 (up from 20 percent in 2015). Recent initiatives like the World Bank-supported Ethiopia Electrification Program have added 1.6 million on-grid connections (mostly peri-urban) and solar mini-grids serving 20,000 rural people, but the situation remains critical in many areas.

During the last decade, Ethiopia experienced a relentless increase in electric grid penetration and a more widespread use of electricity, both for business activities and household consumption. International programs have promoted initiatives to connect Ethiopians to the grid, initiatives like the Ethiopia Electrification Program (ELEAP) and the Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia (ADELE) aim to provide universal electrification in the country (World Bank, 2025). Nonetheless, this expansion has been mainly concentrated in urban areas leaving rural areas still in the dark. The percentage of Ethiopian having electricity access accounts for 55% of the population, with only 43% of the rural population having access to it (Tracking SDG, 2025).

Rural electrification consistently emerges in the literature as a catalyst for structural change in rural economies, enabling households to reallocate time and labor away from low‑productivity farm work toward higher‑return non‑farm self‑employment and wage jobs, as shown for Ghana, Cambodia, South Africa and India (Akpandjar and Kitchens 2017; Chhay and Yamazaki 2020; Dinkelman 2011; Rud 2012). At the household level, studies from Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Nicaragua find that gaining a grid connection raises cash income and total expenditure, in part by opening up new income-generating activities and extending productive hours into the evening (Khandker, Barnes, and Samad 2013; Grogan and Sadanand 2013). Access to electricity also improves food security by enabling refrigeration, cold storage and safer food preparation, and by supporting more productive, mechanized agriculture (Candelise, Saccone, and Vallino 2021). Within the home, electrification encourages adoption of labor‑saving appliances, reduces reliance on fuelwood and other traditional fuels, and frees up women’s and children’s time from firewood collection and other domestic chores (Akpandjar and Kitchens 2017; Grogan and Sadanand 2013). These shifts generate important spillovers for children: a broad set of impact evaluations across Asia and Latin America show higher school attendance and more years of schooling, especially where electricity reaches previously unserved villages (Khandker, Barnes, and Samad 2013; Lipscomb, Mobarak, and Barham 2013). More recently, quasi‑experimental evidence from India and Bhutan links improved access and reliability of electricity to better test scores, more time spent studying in the evening, and higher investment in children’s education through both income gains and changed parental expectations (Chatterjee, Hastawala, and Kamal 2023; Akpandjar and Kitchens 2017; Kumar and Rauniyar 2018).

Most interviewed households in the Debre Birhan area do not have a grid connection, but personal solar panels with small batteries, which can enable them to use electricity for basic daily needs, such as enlightenment thanks to light bulbs or mobile phone charging.