1. RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS FOR
COMMUNITY ENERGY RESILIENCE
IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
Long Seng To
Smart Villages/LCEDN Webinar
28th February 2019

2. Aims
• Establish research
collaborations
• Focus on opportunities
to increase community
energy resilience in on-
grid, mini-grid and
stand-alone electricity
systems in South Asia
and sub-Saharan Africa

3. Resilience is…
“the ability of individuals, communities,
organizations or countries exposed to disasters,
crises and underlying vulnerabilities to anticipate,
prepare for, reduce the impact of, cope with and
recover from the effects of shocks and stresses
without compromising their long-term prospects.”
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

4. Why focus on community energy resilience?
strategic use of energy by households and communities to improve
their resilience
• in disaster situations
• in everyday life
An observation
• energy services for humanitarian aid & international development
• coordination between grid, mini-grid & stand alone electricity
systems
Implications for

5. Objectives
Facilitate knowledge exchange & establish a working
relationship between academics, policymakers, practitioners
and donors in the UK, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa
Identify research opportunities to increase community
energy resilience in on-grid, mini-grid and stand alone
electricity systems
Explore opportunities to extend this research area through
further funding

6. Events
Loughborough, UK
Jun 2018
Oxford, UK
Nov 2018
Kathmandu, Nepal
Feb 2019
Malawi
Mar/Apr 2019
https://energyeconomicgrowth.org/publication/eeg-energy-insight-
developing-research-agenda-community-energy-resilience-electricity

7. UK Workshop

8. UK Workshop
Governance
Community
resilience
Energy
resilience
Electricity
systems:
grid,
mini-grid,
stand alone
•Confirmed the need for
research at each of these
boundaries
•Need to focus on energy
services
•Need for inclusion and
capacity development

9. South Asia Workshop

10. South Asia Workshop

11. South Asia Workshop: Agenda
The energy & resilience situation in South Asia
What are the most critical energy services to continue operating for
communities most vulnerable to disasters? What are the major
vulnerabilities in the electricity system (do grid, mini-grid and stand-
alone systems differ)? How does energy fit into wider understandings of
resilience?
Identifying research needs: disaster response & recovery
How do households and communities respond and recover from
disasters in terms of energy services? What research is needed on the
role of energy in response to disaster and recovery? Do on-grid, mini-
grid and stand-alone systems offer different solutions?
Identifying research needs: disaster prevention & preparation
What research is needed on the role of energy in preventing and
preparing for disasters at different scales? How can we build more
resilient energy systems? What is the role of different actors, e.g.
community, private sector, government?

12. South Asia Workshop: Emerging Questions
The energy & resilience situation in South Asia
• Role of quality control guidelines
• Integration of mini-grids into national grids
• Cost/benefit of renewable energy systems with backup systems
• Actions required across operational, regional and national levels
Identifying research needs: disaster response & recovery
• Role of energy efficiency
• Specific challenges faced by informal urban communities and
communities being displaced
• Critical capacity of community organisations, esp. Nepal
• Build back better
• Inclusion of energy in reconstruction plans
• Productive use of energy

13. South Asia Workshop: Emerging Questions
Identifying research needs: disaster prevention & preparation
• Interaction between the changing nature of exposure to risks;
natural and build systems; users and managers of energy; and rules
and regulations
• Role of social capital
• Energy security

14. Inspiring Winners Since 1909
Thank you!
Long Seng To
l.to@lboro.ac.uk
energyeconomicgrowth.org
lcedn.com