Based on phone interviews with 79,000+ off-grid energy customers, this report identifies areas for improvement and opportunities for outsized impact performance for energy organisations and investors alike – to aid in bridging the energy divide and achieve the global goal of universal energy access.
This report builds upon the first edition in 2020 to collect more than 2.5 million unique data points over the past 3 years. It includes a larger number of companies, a wider variety of energy products and services, new social performance indicators, and broader market insights. Much of the data is new, reflecting the constantly changing social dynamics and experiences of off-grid energy consumers. The report provides a deep, bottom-up analysis of data to share key insights about what it means to own a modern off-grid energy product: the impact on access, behaviours, and quality of life.
“The solar home system has changed a lot in my life. It has helped us because where we live there was no electricity, but now we are lighting our houses, we said goodbye to single wick and candles. My children are revising their lessons easily and this has increased their performance.”
Solar home system customer
“My life has got worse because I have been trying to make payment for the freezer, and then now they’re stressing me that I have not made payment which I know I have. I made a loss in my business because they did not come to fix the freezer on time, so I had a huge loss.”
Refrigerator customer
“I feel comfortable at night; when my fan is on I don’t feel the heat anymore and no mosquitoes as well.”
Solar fan customer
“My solar home system is not working and I contacted the company more than five times and I got poor responses. I have already paid for a system until next year January so I am in darkness until now.”
Solar home system customer
“My family’s diet has improved since we can stock essential food items and consume them when still fresh. Also, buying food items in bulk, especially the perishable ones like milk, has significantly reduced our budget of food.”
Refrigerator customer
The people we spoke to offer a unique window into their lived experience, defining the impact and benefits of these services in their own words, as well as the challenges faced. In turn, this has allowed us to define metrics and measure impact based on what is most material to users, as well as build benchmarks around these metrics.
Please email energy@60decibels.com if you would like us to send you a printable version of the report.
Nearly three-quarters of customers we spoke to use some form of financing to pay for their energy access. Pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) offers a chance to reach new customers and enhance affordability, but has led to some customers taking on more than they can manage. A small but significant 5% find the payments for their energy device to be a significant financial burden, and 30% say they have fallen behind on payments at some point.
They may not provide the most comprehensive energy access, but the solar lantern still continues to generate the highest impact and customer satisfaction. Their simplicity lends itself well to adoption and ease of use. Whether as a primary or complementary energy source, families use them to move away from polluting and expensive alternatives. Those who use their solar lanterns for productive use see income gains too.
Overall, the off-grid energy sector performs well globally when it comes to customer satisfaction, with a Net Promoter Score® (NPS)
of 43. The NPS now is similar to the 45 in our 2020 report. However, looking at individual results relative to the benchmark reveals a wide range of scores. The lowest NPS in our benchmark is -100, and the highest is 91. Check out our ranking chart to understand that scale on page 35 of the report.
A third of customers experience challenges using their energy product or service (unchanged from 2020). When this happens, customers and their families can’t unlock the many benefits of improved energy access. Nearly 25% of the 79,000+ customers we interviewed have unresolved issues which affects impact, satisfaction, and likely future sales. The NPS of customers who face no challenges is 56, while the NPS for those with unresolved issues is a not-so-great 1.
We launched our Inclusive Energy Opportunity to shine a light on early-stage locally-owned and/or women-led organisations. Such businesses have traditionally been somewhat neglected in terms of access to capital. And that’s a miss given that our findings point to locally-owned and/or women-led organisations generating higher impact, being more inclusive (over a range of metrics), and earning better satisfaction rates than their peers.
“The light has helped me a lot in my shop work. Before I couldn’t work at night.”
“The TV helps me to watch programmes on current affairs in the country. I am updated with what is happening in the country and the world. ”
“Now I can send my children to school and pay for their school fees, and I also managed to build a house. ”
“Where I stay there is no electricity and it’s amazing that I now have lights 24/7.”
“My wife has a hearing problem and I have a challenge with walking. But this has not affected our usage of the solar home system.”
“The fan is a great help to me and my family. Since I bought the fan my entire family no longer sleep under heat again. ”
“I can always prepare food on time without any worry. I don’t need to go outside to collect firewood. ”
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