Abstract
In cities of the Global South, socio-technical heterogeneity in electricity provision is a reality that has partially shifted debates to the diversity of arrangements beyond the grid. Building on the case of Kingston in Jamaica, this article focuses on the relationship between the grid and such heterogeneous configurations and considers how heterogeneity transforms existing power relations. By analyzing the different strategies that actors (the government, the electricity provider, different types of consumers) have developed to address different challenges (energy transition, non-technical losses, affordability, etc.), the article shows how this heterogeneity entails a political process that reshapes possibilities and constraints for governing, and being governed by, the electricity grid. This analysis suggests taking solidarity as a central dimension when considering how to govern heterogeneous configurations, including the relationships between consumers, types of socio-technical systems and neighborhoods.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 35-54 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Urban Technology |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 2 Sept 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:I am very grateful to all the interviewees for their availability in participating to this research. I am also grateful to Eric Verdeil, Sylvy Jaglin and to all the members of the research project Hybridelec for the collective discussion and feed-back. This article greatly benefited from the comments of anonymous reviewers in the Journal of Urban Technology.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords
- electricity infrastructure
- energy transition
- heterogeneity
- power relations
- solidarity
