The Oil Drum

In Europe we take our electricity supply largely for granted, almost all Europeans have reliable grid electricity at affordable prices. This isn’t the case everywhere in the world and may not always be the case in Europe. Electricity is a particular concern in the UK where a generation crisis is brewing with the decommission of the aging nuclear fleet, the closure of around a third of the coal fleet under the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive and the rapid depletion of North Sea gas.

To take a glimpse at what life might be like without today’s reliable supply we take a trip to Africa, Uganda, courtesy of Nokia who have carried out an investigation looking at how people manage to keep their mobile phones charged and maintain some degree of electricity use at home in off-grid parts of the country.

Advertising for urban Kampala battery charging services, Uganda, Jan Chipchase, 2006