South Sudan faces a serious energy crisis due to a number of factors, including devastating conflicts (e.g. 1955-172, 1983-2005 & 2013–present) and reliance on the fossil fuel source. The country has the lowest energy consumption rate in Africa and the highest cost of producing energy. Juba, the capital, has between 5,000 and 10,000 diesel powered generators that are inefficient and have detrimental impacts on people’s health and environment. South Sudan Electricity Corporation (SSEC) has an installed power capacity of 30 MW but most of it is not operational due to technical problems and fuel shortage. This paper updates empirical evidence on energy access in Juba, with the view of
informing a possible transition to renewable sources. We conducted a comprehensive literature review and a survey of 267 households and institutions in 4 administrative units of Juba. We selected the respondents randomly with the sampling technique based on Krejchie and Morgan’s (1970) sampling frame. We recommend the enactment of a micro-generation and decentralized grid policy supported with market-based incentives in the form of the feed-in-tariff program, implemented through a private-public partnership. This could be enforced through a legislation that encourages independent power producers to boost their production and supply of electricity to households and institutions in Juba and other localities across the country. Market-based incentives should be tailored toward meeting the needs of independent power producers to build local power grid networks. Finally, we recommend the provision of energy aid to poor neighborhoods.
