“Access to Energy for the BOP” is the result of a consulting assignment undertaken for three energy leading corporations: GDF SUEZ, Schneider Electric and Total. The three companies agreed to share part of this work in a public report, in order to contribute to spreading innovations that are transforming lives of customers from the Base of the Pyramid (BOP), i.e. the 4b poorest people.
The report analyzes projects serving the poorest, and that are economically viable and scalable. It presents solutions to provide electricity to the 1.6b who still don’t have it. It looks for alternatives for the 3b who still cook with biomass, whilst a staggering 1.6m dies every year due to the toxic effects of indoor fires.
Solving these problems is a market opportunity. Despite being poorly served or even endangered, the poor are paying for energy. And they often pay more than the others, for instance when slum dwellers have to go through local mafias to get an erratic electricity connection. The 4b poorest people, forming the Base of the Pyramid spend ~$500b (PPP) on energy each year. These consumers are generally out of the scope of energy corporations. But over the world, pioneering organizations have taken the challenge of bringing better products and services for the poorest using market-based mechanisms. The “Access to Energy for the BOP” presents examples of their promising innovations that now need to be scaled up.
