Energy Enabling Women: Past, Present, Future by Jacky Scholz Namibian Electricity Control Board African Utility Week Cape Town 8 – 10 May 2006

Introduction Why does gender matter? Women perform 2/3 of the world’s work; Women earn 1/10 of the world’s income; Women constitute 2/3 of the world’s illiterates; Women own less than 1/100 of the world’s property; Women face a higher ratio of unemployment, 5:8 when compared to men; More than half of poor people in the world are found in rural areas and more than half the rural poor are women

Introduction (cont’) Following a few pictures of energy events from Namibia

ECB Kenya Visit

ECB Uganda Visit

Issue of 2 nd RED licence

SADC Energy Conference

Single Buyer Workshop

Tariff Workshop

ECB House Inauguration

The (Brief) History of Women and Energy Women’s history with energy The role of electricity Section 95 of the Hague Forum’s Background Paper on Gender Equality Earth Summit II Implementation Programme The developing world

Energy Saving Time Energy saves time Second World War Women enter job market

The Appliances of Ms Frederick

The Use of Energy Today Angola Wood and charcoal provide 56% of primary energy supply Biomass is the source of 85% of household energy consumption Electricity 1% – 2 %LPG – 9% Kerosene – 5% Botswana Main source of household energy is wood Electricity only available in urban areas Wood – 69% Petroleum – 19% Coal – 5.6% Electricity – 5.8% Lesotho Residential energy consumption accounts for more than 85% of total consumption 2% - 3% households electrified

The Use of Energy Today Malawi Wood provides about 93% of Malawi’s energy, mainly for household 4% of population has access to electricity Less than 1% of rural homes are electrified Mozambique Almost all rural households use firewood for cooking4 0% of urban households use firewood for cooking 50% of rural and 3% of urban households use wood for lighting Less than 25% of urban households have electricity Namibia 10% - 15% of rural homes have access to electricity 76% of urban homes have access to electricity 73% - 93% of rural households rely on biomass 75% of rural homes and 40% of urban homes use wood for cooking

The Use of Energy Today Swaziland 2% of households connected to grid 90% of gross energy in rural areas is from wood compared with 57% for urban areas and 21% for company towns Zambia Wood fuel provides 68% of total energy supply Household consumption accounts for 88% of wood fuel use

Electricity v GDP Correlation between GDP and electricity consumption stronger than between GDP and total energy use, each per person If GDP increases x100, electricity demand increases x1000 Unemployment most effective means of reducing electricity demand Full employment requires more electricity Working people need energy

Energy and Fertility & Infant Mortality Increase in population = increase in electricity demand Correlation between fertility and infant mortality and electricity consumption per person “No power is as expensive as no power” Underlines opportunities and improved circumstances energy provides to women Link between poverty, energy, health, education and gender empowerment

Energy and the Rural Women Role of women in energy policies & decisions Choice of energy SA Figures: 11% of workforce (1% = black women) 4% of management (- 1% = black women) Home Lighting/Connection Point Preferences of Women and Men – Ghana Project WomenMen Kitchen (food preparation)House Entertainment area (play Workroom (to earn income)cards, watch TV, etc) Bathroom (to wash children) In rural areas (developing countries) cooking is women’s largest single energy use (80% of household energy use) Restrictive access to credit Low energy consumption and geographic remoteness preclude extension of conventional electricity grid

Energy and the Rural Women Rural women primary responsible for collection, distribution and purification of energy and water to sustain families ActivityFuel use Beer brewing1kg wood/litre beer Rice parboiling1kg wood/0.4 kg rice Bread making0.8 – 1.5 kg wood/kg bread Fish smoking5 – 12 kg wood/kg smoked fish (40% of processing cost) Oil pressing0.43 kg wood/litre oil Gari cassava processing 1kg wood/4kg gari / cassava

Lives of the Rich better than the Poor

Negative Impact on Women Arduous and time consuming fuel collection Time consuming cooking methods Negative nutritional impacts Negative health impacts Lack of time Limited access to empowerment Unsafe activities Limited finances spent on fuel Lack of input in energy planning Lack of access to modern technologies Limited markets

Role of Efficient Energy Has many positive benefits Various projects focus on women Renewable energies the answer? Raises awareness Raises life expectancy

The Future Provide more options & better choices Energy for income earning activities Reducing health risks Better access to credit Improve information distribution Training Education Participation of women in policies Raise awareness

Conclusion Energy can empower women Cognisance of women’s different needs Safe, acceptable, reliable and affordable energy Consultative approaches Collection of data Gender sensitisation Gender equality