Energy poverty is defined as a lack of access to energy. It relates to the minimum amount of energy a household can afford and requires for cooking, heating and lighting. According to World Bank data on energy consumption, countries with higher percentages of energy consumption are rich and developed, with very low poverty rates. Conversely, countries with lower energy consumption are underdeveloped with higher poverty rates. The World Bank Report on the Nigerian power sector shows that Nigeria has the largest population of people without electricity access. Nigeria was also named the world’s poverty capital, with about 50% of its population living in extreme poverty, mostly in rural areas.
Due to energy poverty in Nigeria, inhabitants of rural areas do not have access to cleaner sources of energy. The links between energy poverty and life expectancy come from the effect of the former on the standard of living. The lack of access to energy has negative impacts on health, security, education and societal development. Women, for example, are exposed to respiratory diseases due to smoke inhalation from the burning of firewood. Young girls miss out on education, skipping school to perform domestic chores that are easier to do with adequate access to energy. In addition, women and children are exposed to attack from robbers, rapists etc., on the long trek to get these wood fuels for cooking.
Without electricity for adequate heating, rural households are exposed to health problems, especially in extreme weather conditions. In addition, the hospitals in rural areas will have challenges with the storage and provision of adequate medical services where there is a lack of electricity. A combination of these factors eventually leads to a lower life expectancy rate compared to countries with a higher percentage of citizens with access to energy.
With this regard, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consider the need to provide access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all in SDG No 7.