This book offers a critical and comprehensive analysis of Africa’s electrification journey. In 2024, the World Bank, African Development Bank, and their partners launched Mission 300, a bold initiative to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. Yet, this is not the continent’s first electrification promise. From Lighting Africa to Power Africa, the past two decades have seen a proliferation of well-intentioned programs—yet the number of Africans without electricity has stubbornly remained around 600 million.

This book interrogates the gap between ambition and achievement, exploring the political, economic, and social dynamics that shape electricity access. Drawing on case studies from Kenya, Ghana, and beyond, it examines the role of development partners, private sector actors, and national governments in expanding access.

Key themes include:

1. The energy trilemma: balancing security, affordability, and sustainability.
2. The politics of regulation, subsidies, and cost recovery.
3. The impact of gender, culture, and tradition on energy access.
4. The promise and limits of off-grid and cross-border solutions.
5. The importance of data, measurement, and coordination.

This book is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to understand—and transform—the future of energy in Africa.

Ishmael Ackah is a technical advisor at Ghana’s Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, where he chairs the technical committee of the Mission 300 National Energy Compact and coordinates the Energy Sector Recovery Program. He is a senior advisor at the Energy for Growth Hub and former Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission. Ishmael has held key advisory roles with USAID, DFID, and the Ghana Energy Commission and has consulted for institutions including the African Development Bank, UN ECA, and IHS Markit. He lectures at the University of Ghana Law School and GIMPA and has published over 70 academic papers. He holds a Ph.D. in Energy Economics from the University of Portsmouth.

Ivie Ehanmo is a legal and regulatory expert in sustainable energy with over 15 years’ experience across Africa, the UK, and the EU. She is the founder of Electricity Lawyer, a platform promoting energy access through legal and policy tools. Ivie advises governments and global institutions on electricity markets and sits on several energy boards. She is active in hydrogen and CCUS taskforces and leads initiatives on clean energy and sustainability.

Charly Gatete is an energy economist with dual Ph.D.s in Energy Economics (University of Paris-Saclay) and Energy (2iE, Burkina Faso). He is an applied researcher at the Africa School of Regulation and formerly served as an expert economist at ECOWAS’s electricity regulator (ERERA). His experience spans renewable energy project management, UNDP consultancy, and academic roles at Thomas Sankara University.