Global Tracking Framework for Measuring Energy Access

Introduction

Energy Access used to be defined by whether or not a household had access to electricity or not. However, this over-simplistic criteria ignores the many forms in which people access and use energy. For example, many grid connected household only have access to electricity at a low voltage or their supply might be intermittent and therefore restrict their electricity usage to only a few hours a day. Also, defining energy access through grid connection does not take into account these energy needs for cooking and heating, which are often met through solid or liquid fuels, rather than through electricity. A further factor which needs to be considered in terms of energy access is the availability of energy for businesses, community institutions, such as schools, health facilities, government buildings, public buildings as well as street lights. In order to take into consideration these numerous different factors, all of which contribute towards energy access, a more holistic framework for measuring and defining energy access was needed.

The Global Tracking Framework and the Multi-Tier Framework

The Multi-Tier Framework (MTF) for measuring energy access was first introduced in the 2013 Global Tracking Framework (GTF) report, written by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMP) together with other organisations and programs including Energizing Development, Lighting Africa, Practical Action, The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the UN Development Programme, the UN Industrial Development Organization, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization. The MTF was developed within the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative, due to the shortcomings of a binary energy access assessment, in which a household was either defined as having access to electricity or not. The aim of the framework is to “to monitor and evaluate energy access by following a multidimensional approach.” This is done by measuring energy access using a multi-tiered-spectrum which ranges from Tier 0 (no access) to Tier 5 (the highest level of access). The data gathered through the GTF can then be used to measure global progress towards the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) which aims to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services by 2030.

The four main objectives of the MFT are to:

• “Establish a global baseline of energy access, starting in 10-15 high access deficit countries based on the multifaceted definition according to MTF;
• Transfer capacity to national statistical offices to keep tracking progress toward SE4ALL goals and SDG in the future and
• Continue improving tools and capacities for tracking progress towards reaching the SE4ALL objective of universal access to modern energy services by 2030, based on MTF and;
• Provide reliable data on energy sector that can meet needs of multiple stakeholders, including government, regulators, utilities, project developers, civil society organizations, developmental agencies, financial institutions, appliance manufacturers, international programs and the academia.”

 

The GTF includes three main sections. One for assessing household access to energy, one for assessing the access to energy for productive engagement and one category for assessing the access to energy for community facilities. Energy access for households is further divided into access to electricity, cooking solutions and space heating. Access to energy for community facilities looks at street lighting, health facilities, education facilities, community buildings and public offices.

An overall energy access level for households/productive use/community facilities can be obtained by calculating the average tier based on all of the individual categories within each index. Further data analysis could combine the results to calculate the average energy access level of a neighbourhood or region, and then comparing it to other regions or tracking the progress of that region over time.

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 Household Energy

Access to Electricity

In the GTF household access to electricity is measured based on the capacity, duration, reliability, quality, affordability, legality and health and safety impacts. The criteria are technology neutral and focus only on the impacts for the consumer. Table 1 below shows how the different tiers for access to household electricity supply are determined within each category. In order to determine the overall energy tier of a household the average of all tiers is calculated.

 Table 1: Multi-Tier Matrix for Access to Household Electricity Supply

		Tier 0	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3	Tier 4	Tier 5
Capacity	Power		≥ 3W	≥ 50W	≥ 200W	≥ 800W	≥ 2kW
	AND Daily capacity		≥ 12Wh	≥ 200Wh	≥ 1.0 kWh	≥ 3.4 kWh	≥ 8.2 kWh
	OR Service		Lighting of 1,000 lmhr per day and phone charging	Electrical lighting, air circulation, television and phone charging are possible
Duration	Hours per day		≥ 4hrs	≥ 4hrs	≥ 8hrs	≥ 16 hrs	≥ 23 hrs
	Hours per evening					≥ 4 hrs	≥ 4 hrs
Reliability						≤ 14 disruptions per week	≤ 3 disruptions per week of total duration < 2hrs
Quality						Voltage problems do not affect use of desired appliances
Affordability					Cost of standard consumption package of 365 kWh per annum is < than 5% of household income
Legality						Bill is paid to the utility, prepaid card seller of authorized representative
Health and Safety						Absence of past accidents and perception of high risk in the future.

*The minimum power capacity rating in Watts are indicated, particularly for Tier 1 and Tier 2 as the efficiency of end-user appliances is critical to determining the real level capacity and thus the type of electricity service that can be performed.

While usually having good access to electricity supply results in a better access to energy services the two do not necessarily come together. A household could have good electricity supply, but not have access to household appliances, or vice versa. Therefore, Table 2 shows a separate multi-tier matrix for measuring a household’s access to electricity services.

Table 2: Multi-tier Matrix for Access to Household Electricity Services

	Tier 0	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3	Tier 4	Tier 5
Tier Criteria	Not applicable	Task lighting, Phone charging	General lighting, Television, Fan (if needed)	Tier 2 AND Any medium-power appliances	Tier 3 AND Any high-power appliances	Tier 4 AND Any very high power appliances

 

Table 3 shows the multi-tier matrix for accessing electricity consumption. This matrix is closely linked to the one for energy services.

Table 3: Multi-tier Matrix for Electricity Consumption

	Tier 0	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3	Tier 4	Tier 5
Annual Consumption levels, in kWh	<4.5	≥ 4.5	≥ 73	≥ 365	≥ 1,250	≥ 3,000
Daily consumption levels, in Wh	<12	≥ 12	≥ 200	≥ 1,000	≥ 3,425	≥ 8,219

 

Access to Cooking

The GTF measures household access to cooking based on the indoor air quality, cookstove efficiency, convenience, safety of the primary fuel, affordability, quality of the primary fuel and the availability of the primary fuel.

Table 4 shows the matrix used for accessing access to cooking solutions. “Although distinct, the multi-tier framework for household access to energy for cooking has been defined in a manner that is consistent with the International Workshop Agreement on Cookstoves (IWA) tiers for measuring cookstove performance. To avoid any confusion with the IWA “tiers” for cookstoves, the proposed multi-tier framework uses the term “levels” for improving echelons of attributes of cooking access.”

 

Table 4: Multi-Level Matrix for Access to Cooking Solutions

		Level 0	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Indoor Air Quality	PM 2.5 ('µ'g(m3)		[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	< 35 (WHO, IT -1)	< 10 (WHO guideline)
	CO (mg/m3)					< 7 (WHO guideline)	< 7 (WHO guideline)
Cookstove Efficiency (not to be applied if cooking solution is also used for heating)			Primary solution meets Tier 1 efficiency requirements [To be specified by a competent agency consistent with local cooking requirements]	Primary solution meets Tier 2 efficiency requirements [To be specified by a competent agency consistent with local cooking requirements]	Primary solution meets Tier 3 efficiency requirements [To be specified by a competent agency consistent with local cooking requirements]	Primary solution meets Tier 4 efficiency requirements [To be specified by a competent agency consistent with local cooking requirements]
Convenience	Stove preparation time (min/meal)			< 7	< 3	< 1.5	< 0.5
	Fuel acquisition and preparation time (hrs/week)			< 15	< 10	< 5	< 2
Safety of Primary Fuel	IWA safety tiers			Primary solution meets (provisional) ISO Tier 2	Primary solution meets (provisional) ISO Tier 3	Primary solution meets (provisional) ISO Tier 4
	OR Past accidents (burns, unintended fires)					No accidents over the past year that required professional medical attendance
Affordability						Levelised cost of cooking solution (including cooking fuel) < 5% of household income
Quality of Primary Fuel: Variations in heat rate due to fuel quality that affect ease of cooking.						No major effect
Availability of Primary Fuel						Primary fuel is readily available for ≥ 80% of the year	Primary fuel is readily available throughout the year

*CO = carbon monoxide, ISO = International Organization for Standardization, IWA = International Workshop Agreement of Cookstoves, PM = Particulate Matter

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Access to Space-Heating

In many households, space heating is achieved through the same means as cooking. However, space heating is also often achieved (or augmented) through additional heating systems such as electric heating, fuel-based centralized district heating, fuel-based standalone heating, and direct solar heating. Therefor space heating has been assigned its own individual multi-tier framework, separate from the cooking framework. This allows for an individual access to energy for space heating index to be calculated, based on the categories shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Multi-Tier Matrix for Access to Space Heating

		Level 0	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Capacity			Personal space around individuals is heater	At least one room is heated		All rooms of the house are heated
Duration					At least half the time when needed (>50% of the time)	Most hours when needed (>75% of the time)	Almost all hours when needed (>95% of the time)
Quality					Comfortable temperature ≥ 50% of the time	Comfortable temperature ≥ 75% of the time	Comfortable temperature all of the time
Convenience (Fuel collection time)				≤ 7 hrs/wk	≤ 3 hrs/wk	≤ 1.5 hrs/wk	≤ 0.5 hrs/wk
Affordability					Max 2 times grid tariff
Reliability					≤ 3 disruptions per day	≤ 7 disruptions per week	≤ 3 disruptions per week of total duration < 2 hours
Indoor Air Quality	PM 2.5 ('µ'g/m3)		[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	< 35 (WHO, IT -1)	< 10 (WHO guideline)
	CO (mg/m3)					< 7 (WHO guideline)	< 7 (WHO guideline)
Safety						No accidents over the past year that required professional medical attendance

*BLEENS = biogas, LPG, ethanol, natural gas and solar. CO = carbon monoxide, kWh = kilowatt hour, LPG = liquid petroleum gas, Max = maximum, Min = minimum, PM, particulate matter, W = Watts, WH = what-hours, WHO = World Health Organization

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Productive Use

“Productive uses of energy are defined as those that increase income or productivity, referred to as value-adding activities.” This quite general definition makes is difficult to define an energy access framework for productive use, due to the many different types of energy requirements which might be encountered. The productive use framework shown in Table 6 was devised based on energy access experiences of individuals in productive engagements. It includes all of the major energy applications/impacts which were found to be relevant for productive use activities.

 

Table 6: Multi-tier Matrix for Access to Energy for Productive Use

				Tier 0	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3	Tier 4	Tier 5
Capacity	Electricity		Power		≥ 3 W	≥ 50 W	≥ 200 W	≥ 800 W	≥ 2 kW
			Daily supply capacity		≥ 12 Wh	≥ 200 Wh	≥ 1.0 kWh	≥ 3.4 kWh	≥ 8.2 kWh
			Typical source		Solar lantern	Solar home system	Generator or mini-grid	Generator or grid	Grid
	Non-Electric						Available non-electric energy partially meets requirements	Available non-electric energy largely meets the requirements	Available non-electric energy fully meets all requirements
	Both						No relevant application is absent solely due to energy supply constraints
Duration of Daily Supply	Electricity				≥ 2 hrs	≥ 4 hrs	≥ 50% of working hours	Most working hours, ≥ 75 %	Almost all of working hours, ≥ 95%
	Non-Electric						Available non-electric energy partially meets requirements	Available non-electric energy largely meets the requirements	Available non-electric energy fully meets all requirements
	Both						Long working hours are not prevented solely by lack of adequate energy (capacity or duration)
Reliability								No reliability issues that have severe impact	No reliability issues or little impact
Quantity								No quality issues that have severe impact	No quality issues or little impact
Affordability								Variable cost of energy is less than two times the grid tariff	Variable cost of energy is less than the grid tariff
Legality								Energy bill is paid to the utility/pre-paid card seller/authorized representative/legal market operator
Convenience								Time and energy in securing and preparing energy does not cause severe impact	No convenience issues or little impact
Health (Indoor Air quality from use of fuels)		PM 2.5 ('µ'g(m3)			[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	[To be specified by a competent agency, such as WHO, based on health risks]	< 35 (WHO, IT -1)	< 10 (WHO guideline)
		CO (mg/m3)						< 7 (WHO guideline)	< 7 (WHO guideline)
		OR Use of fuels (BLEENS)				Use of non-BLEENS solutions (if any) for heating in the open or with some extraction		Use of BLEENS of equivalent solutions only
Safety								Energy solutions have not caused any accidents over the past year that required professional medical assistance	Energy solutions have not caused any accidents over the past year.

*BLEENS = biogas, LPG, ethanol, natural gas and solar. CO = carbon monoxide, kWh = kilowatt hour, LPG = liquid petroleum gas, Max = maximum, Min = minimum, PM, particulate matter, W = Watts, WH = what-hours, WHO = World Health Organization

 

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Community Energy

Access to energy in community areas/facilities is very important for the socioeconomic development of a community. As an example, having access to energy can improve the quality of education and healthcare facilities by being able to power electric device, lights and heating systems. The huge diversity found in different communities in terms of their available facilities and resultants energy demands make it challenging to assemble a single comprehensive framework for community energy access. Due to this complex street lighting coverage energy access for community institutions have been assigned two separate frameworks. The multi-tier frameworks for energy access in community institutions (shown in Table 7) and street lighting (shown in Table 8) were devised based on surveys with community institutions, as well as community members using these institutions.

 

Table 7: Multi-tier Matrix for Measuring Access in Community Institutions

				Tier 0	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3	Tier 4	Tier 5
Capacity	Electricity		Power		≥ 3 W	≥ 50 W	≥ 200 W	≥ 800 W	≥ 2 kW
			Daily supply capacity		≥ 12 Wh	≥ 200 Wh	≥ 1.0 kWh	≥ 3.4 kWh	≥ 8.2 kWh
			Typical source		Solar lantern	Solar home system	Generator or mini-grid	Generator or grid	Grid
	Non-Electric						Available non-electric energy partially meets requirements	Available non-electric energy largely meets the requirements	Available non-electric energy fully meets all requirements
	Both						No relevant application is absent solely due to energy supply constraints
Duration of Daily Supply	Electricity				≥ 2 hrs	≥ 4 hrs	≥ 50% of working hours	Most working hours, ≥ 75 %	Almost all of working hours, ≥ 95%
	Non-Electric						Available non-electric energy partially meets requirements	Available non-electric energy largely meets the requirements	Available non-electric energy fully meets all requirements
	Both						Long working hours are not prevented solely by lack of adequate energy (capacity or duration)
Reliability								No reliability issues that have severe impact	No reliability issues or little impact
Quantity								No quality issues that have severe impact	No quality issues or little impact
Affordability								Variable cost of energy is less than two times the grid tariff	Variable cost of energy is less than the grid tariff
Legality								Energy bill is paid to the utility/pre-paid card seller/authorized representative/legal market operator
Convenience								Time and energy in securing and preparing energy does not cause severe impact	No convenience issues or little impact
Health and Safety		Health: Use of fuels (BLEENS)				Use of non-BLEENS solutions (if any) for heating in the open or with some extraction		Use of BLEENS of equivalent solutions only
		Safety						Energy solutions have not caused any accidents over the past year that required professional medical assistance	Energy solutions have not caused any accidents over the past year

 

 

Table 8: Multi-tier Matrix for Access to Street Lighting

	Tier 0	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3	Tier 4	Tier 5
Capacity		≥ 2 functional street lamp in the neighbourhood*	≥ 12% of the neighbourhood is covered by functional street lamps	≥ 50% of the neighbourhood is covered by functional street lamps	≥ 75% of the neighbourhood is covered by functional street lamps	≥ 95% of the neighbourhood is covered by functional street lamps
Durations		Street lighting functions for ≥ 2 hrs/day	Street lighting functions for ≥ 4 hrs/day	Street lighting functions for ≥ 50% of night hrs/day	Street lighting functions for ≥ 75% of night hrs/day	Street lighting functions for ≥ 95% of night hrs/day
Reliability					No reliability issues perceived by users
Quality					No brightness issues perceived by users
Health and Safety					No perceived risk of electrocution due to poor installation or maintenance

*Neighbourhood is defined as area within a distance of 0.5 km from the household

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Further Information

• Global Tracking Framework 2015
• Category: Energy Access
• Energy Access Figures
• Results Based Financing in the Energy Access Sector
• Carbon Markets for Energy Access Projects
• Access to Modern Energy
• Estimating energy demand of the energy poor
• Future scenarios of energy access

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References

The multi-tier matrices were taken from the ESMAP report Beyond Connections – Energy Access Redefined