While decentralisation has opened new pathways to energy access across Africa, experts caution that, where national grids already exist, centralised systems remain the most affordable and efficient foundation for electrification. They argue that the continents energy future depends not on abandoning the grid but on integrating decentralised solutions to strengthen resilience and extend access to unserved areas.
This perspective emerged during a panel discussion on energy security through decentralisation: strategies for a resilient future during Solar Storage Live at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last week.
Decentralisation is an African trend, said Frank Spencer , CEO of SBG.Earth, who moderated the session. In recent years, weve seen thousands of off-grid mini grids built across Africa and hundreds of thousands of small solar home systems installed while imports of solar modules and batteries have surged.