Shell contributes $1.7 million to support access to energy during COVID-19
Jan 21, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a severe impact on the health and livelihoods of people around the world. In many countries, this means that families and communities are struggling to afford electricity for their homes and businesses.
Last year, Shell granted $1.7 million to six companies providing electricity in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda to support customers in financial difficulty because of the pandemic.
Shell’s grants to d.light, PowerGen, Husk Power Systems, Orb Energy and SolarNow will help their customers pay for electricity for up to six months, and contribute to the installation of solar power systems in hospitals and schools. Shell is a minority investor in these companies. The grants will also support customers of RVE.SOL, a company that Shell partners with to deliver social investment programmes providing access to energy in east Africa.
Through these companies’ existing customer networks, Shell’s grants were anticipated to reach up to 700,000 people. To date, 800,000 people have been reached.
“Working jointly with our partners, we want to help families, communities and businesses keep the lights on and mitigate the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on their lives,” said Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell.
Access to Energy During COVID-19
Title: ACCESS TO ENERGY DURING COVID-19
Duration: 0:47 minutes
Description:
A short video of the access to energy support given during COVID-19.
Access to energy during COVID-19 transcript
[Background music plays]
Calm orchestral music plays.
[Video footage]
Scene showing a light bulb that turns on.
[Text displays]
Have you turned a light on today?
[Video footage]
Scene showing a man behind a market stall squeezing oranges.
[Text displays]
COVID-19 is disrupting progress towards universal access to energy.
[Video footage]
Scene showing a fish surrounded by animated ice cubes on a blue background.
[Text displays]
Many people can’t earn daily wages and face increased food prices.
[Video footage]
Scene showing a light bulb turning off and background going darker.
[Text displays]
There is less money to power homes and businesses.
[Background music plays]
Background music turns bit more cheerful.
[Video footage]
Scene showing three workers with personal protection equipment installing a solar panel.
[Text displays]
Shell provided grants to six renewable energy companies to help keep the lights on in homes, businesses, schools, hospitals.
[Video footage]
Scene showing six company logos.
[Text displays]
Together we’ve reached 800,000 people..
[Video footage]
Company logos disappear and new text moves in.
[Text displays]
Together we’ve reached 800,000 people.. …and counting
[Video footage]
Scene shows a cheerful family eating.
[Text displays]
For more information visit www.shell.com/accesstoenergy
[Video footage]
Shell logo appears onscreen.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have less money available for electricity to power lights, fans, fridges, or other appliances. In Kenya, for example, around 59% of lower-income customers of off-grid energy companies said their financial situation had become much worse since the start of the pandemic, according to research by impact measurement company 60 Decibels.
"With COVID-19, the key is to help families and entrepreneurs weather this hardship, particularly those in vulnerable locations, so that innovation and income creation can continue,” said Vivian Vendeirinho, CEO of RVE.SOL. “Shell's grant to RVE.SOL's customers will help maintain access to reliable electricity and enable people and small businesses to thrive.”
In Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria, Shell’s grants to d.light, Husk Power Systems, PowerGen, SolarNow and RVE.SOL are subsidising the energy bills of more than 110,000 households under heightened financial pressure because of the pandemic.
One customer of d.light, Livingstone Ssematiba, bought a solar system to power his home in Uganda in January. Two months later the country went into lockdown and Ssematiba, a father of three young children, lost his job. “The payments from Shell and d.light are a real blessing,” he said.
In Kenya, Sierra Leone and India, PowerGen, SolarNow and Orb Energy are installing solar power systems in more than 30 hospitals and community institutions, including orphanages and schools, free of charge or at discounted rates. A World Health Organisation review found that in 11 sub-Saharan countries, only 28% of health facilities and 34% of hospitals had reliable access to electricity.
Shell will continue to look for ways to support communities around the world. For example, Shell has donated $3 million to the COVID-19 Resilience Fund set up by Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian and development organisation working in more than 40 countries.
Read more about how Shell is working to provide access to energy.
A woman uses solar power provided by d.light at home. Image: d.light
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