Mini-Grids at the Interface: The Deployment of Mini-Grids in Urbanizing Localities of the Global South

Abstract

Based on fieldwork conducted in Senegal, Tanzania, and India, this article argues for a territorialized approach to mini-grids. One of the most sought-after solutions to electrification and transition to renewable energies in the Global South, mini-grids can be defined as decentralized collective systems of electricity supply. Whereas the academic and grey literature has mostly focused on their presence in rural areas, this paper looks at their development in urbanizing localities. It documents access to electrical service in these spaces and shows that, behind the rather uniform vision associated with the mini-grid object, the service provided takes different forms depending on the environment in which it is deployed. The presence of mini-grids also raises issues of social and territorial equity of access to essential services. A territorialized approach to mini-grids, therefore, furthers our understanding of the complex energy changes at work in cities of the Global South.