eprintid: 10190723 rev_number: 12 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/19/07/23 datestamp: 2024-04-16 10:57:41 lastmod: 2024-10-25 13:48:01 status_changed: 2024-04-16 10:57:41 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Perros, Tash creators_name: Unsworth, Sam creators_name: Ali, Muez creators_name: Bisaga, Iwona creators_name: Tomei, Julia title: Towards responsible and fair pay-as-you-go energy access in sub-Saharan Africa ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: C05 divisions: C04 divisions: F44 divisions: F34 keywords: Developing world, Development studies, Economics note: This version is the author-accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: Market-based solutions are playing an increasingly important role in advancing the energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa. Here we focus on pay-as-you-go (PAYG) energy systems, a market-based approach that enables users to pay for energy in small amounts. While acknowledging the benefits of PAYG, we draw attention to six areas of concern about its implementation, including the suitability of PAYG business models to serve lower-income households, data collection and use, and the characteristics of PAYG energy providers and investors. We outline an agenda for inclusive PAYG energy systems in a proactive effort to shape a rapidly evolving sector. We hope that by anticipating these risks, we can help ensure that the PAYG sector is appropriately regulated and that its benefits accrue to the intended beneficiaries. date: 2024-05 date_type: published publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC official_url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01490-1 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2266569 doi: 10.1038/s41560-024-01490-1 lyricists_name: Perros, Anastasia lyricists_name: Tomei, Julia lyricists_name: Bisaga, Iwona lyricists_id: TPERR75 lyricists_id: JMTOM44 lyricists_id: BISAG20 actors_name: Tomei, Julia actors_id: JMTOM44 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Nature Energy volume: 9 pagerange: 520-525 issn: 2058-7546 citation: Perros, Tash; Unsworth, Sam; Ali, Muez; Bisaga, Iwona; Tomei, Julia; (2024) Towards responsible and fair pay-as-you-go energy access in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Energy , 9 pp. 520-525. 10.1038/s41560-024-01490-1 <https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01490-1>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10190723/1/Tomei_Perros%282024%29Responsible_Fair_PAYG_accepted.pdf