Institutional arrangements and sustainable maintenance management of community-based mini-grids in Tanzania

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Authors

  • Irene F. Ngoti

This article presents empirical research on the maintenance management model for containerised solar community-based mini-grids and corresponding institutional arrangements. It employs Agrawal's (2001) “institutional arrangements” subset of enabling conditions and examines its applicability in explaining the sustainability of maintenance management of community mini-grids. The paper analyses and synthesises distinctive sustainability experiences from two solar community mini-grids in Tanzania. Using data from 18 semi-structured interviews with village energy committee members, electricity users, technicians and local leaders, the paper explicates a maintenance management model practised in the two mini-grids. The paper further presents institutional arrangements assessment for the maintenance management of the two mini-grids and analyses how rules, sanctions and accountability for community mini-grids maintenance affect the corresponding maintenance sustainability outcomes. The study found reactive maintenance to be a dominant maintenance strategy and is complemented by insufficient balances in the mini-grids' maintenance funds. Proper enforcement of maintenance rules, implementation of arranged graduated sanctions, and presence of low-cost adjudication coupled with the accountability of mini-grid leaders can potentially enhance the maintenance sustainability of community mini-grids. The paper concludes that, institutional arrangements for communally owned mini-grids need a collective interactive approach among local users for sustainable mini-grids maintenance.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103632
JournalEnergy Research and Social Science
Volume115
Number of pages10
ISSN2214-6296
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 09.2024

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