Who owns and controls energy in Kenya? Find out from Apollo Mboya's presentation on energy democracy presented at the 2018 WED Conference.

1. Energy democracy
October 2018
World Energy Day Conference
Apollo Mboya, HSC
Advocate
apollo@aca.co.ke

2. Energy Democracy: lots of ways to think about it
• Ownership
• Organization
• Control (sovereignty)
• Access benefits/effects
The transition is a political issue – not a technical,
economic or governmental fix
For example: Fossil subsidies; centralized control; profit
motives; blocking renewable progress,;energy poverty
and cutoffs; environmental tribalism/racism; climate
refugees; health effects of coal, fracking, pipelines;
social effects of project camps

3. Larger issue: Which transition model?
De-carbonized growth or Climate and Economic Justice?
Do we just need to switch our energy sources, or is there a more
fundamental problem – capitalism?
Energy Democracy is one way to point towards a mechanism for
the latter – transform the economy and power relations while de-
carbonizing
If so – need to: decentralize production, reduce demand,
reduce/manage peaks

4. Terminologies
Energy Democracy – ownership, control
(socialization/democratization/decentralization of
production), access, justice (environment and people not
harmed), rethink general relationship
Energy Sovereignty – more clear rejection of imperialism
and colonialism
Energy Justice – more resonant with Latin America?
Energy Commons (for need, not profit; self- organized)
Link up with climate justice, environmental justice

5. What‘s this about?
Distribution of costs and benefits –
who profits, who suffers
Who has access, whose voice is
heard?
Power/Control: Ownership part of,
not determinate
Social meaning and position of
energy (commodity, commons:
profit or need based?)

6. Regional and national public energy companies
can enable local democratisation and control
1. Take into public ownership → regional energy
companies
2. Devolve down control, where devolved
governments, local councils, parishes or
community co-operatives are able to operate
infrastructure (e.g. demonstrate skills, capacity)
Effectively – a top-down initated process creating
bottom-up local control.
Public Ownership and Democratisation

7. Why we need public ownership of the global commons
Who owns the sun,
owns the future

9. Court Order

11. END