Expanding electricity access through solar home systems in Zambia
This policy note examines how solar home systems (SHS) can help address Zambia’s rural-urban electricity access gap, highlighting their affordability and limitations for high-energy use. To boost SHS adoption, policymakers can enhance affordability through innovative financing, improve public information, and leverage peer effects by expanding government-led solar initiatives.
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Hardie-et-al-Policy-note-July-2025.pdf
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This policy note explores the role of solar home systems (SHS) in tackling Zambia’s electricity access challenge.
- Electricity access in Zambia stands at 80.3% among urban households but only 34% among rural households.
- SHS offer a relatively low-cost lighting source for isolated rural households, but typically lack capacity for high-energy uses like cooking.
- Despite the potential benefits of SHS, only 11.4% of rural and 5.5% of urban households report using them.
- To increase SHS adoption, Zambian policymakers should focus on three primary areas:
- Affordability – Suspending customs duty and zero-rating value added tax are positive developments, but the government can take further steps with innovative financing, with Namibia as a potential case study.
- Information – The government can complement existing information campaigns with credible information on performance, quality, and price.
- Peer Effects – Speeding up government solar adoption is a promising development and should be implemented widely, signalling the reliability of solar technology.