Spatial assessment and monitoring of household electricity access and use using nighttime lights and ancillary spatial data: a case of Eswatini

ABSTRACT

This study develops models of electricity access and use in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) using census data on household use of electricity for cooking and lighting.  Nighttime light (NTL) data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band sensor is combined with ancillary spatial datasets though random forest models to predict electricity access and use. The findings reveal geographic disparities in electricity access. Subsequently, electricity access maps for the years 2013 to 2019 were produced and compared to the official electricity access rates. This indicates that NTL data can be used for monitoring and spatial planning of electrification programmes.

KEYWORDS:

• Electricity
• energy
• eswatini
• nighttime lights
• random forest

Acknowledgments

The 2017 Population and Housing Census data were obtained courtesy of the Director of the Central Statistics Office, Mr. Amos Zwane and the Statistician Mr. Sabelo Simelane.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Availability of data

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the Mendeley Data repository, http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/g4t9hrzt2w.1

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wisdom M. Dlamini

Wisdom M.D. Dlamini is a lecturer at the Department of Geography, Environmental Science and Planning, University of Eswatini. His research focuses on the application of GIS and remote sensing in the environment and social research, land use/cover, and environmental management.

Lindiwe Dlamini is a Senior Energy Officer at the Department of Energy, Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy. Her interests are in energy access and sustainable development.