Within global debates, decentralization with respect to renewable electricity is positioned as pivotal in overlapping calls for decarbonization, energy access and just transitions. The promise is that technologies that are smaller and distributed will deliver a range of benefits, including enabling infrastructural innovations and expanding sustainable access, notably by empowering local authorities. While shifting to low-carbon systems is imperative, in this paper we call for attention to the complexity, opportunities and risks of commonly celebrated experiments in distributed electricity technologies when applied to African contexts. We draw on the case of Uganda, unpacking a series of four innovative electricity projects currently under way. For each case, we look at the actors involved and the imagined relationship between the projects and the incumbent grid. From these cases, we argue that, in this African context characterized by contested urban governance and fragmented networks, careful attention to supporting urban scale institutional and infrastructural development is necessary, although in many cases bypassed.

中文翻译：

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分布式能源技术、分散系统和非洲城市的未来

在全球辩论中，可再生电力的权力下放在脱碳、能源获取和公正转型的重叠呼吁中被定位为关键。人们承诺，更小、更分散的技术将带来一系列好处，包括实现基础设施创新和扩大可持续的获取，特别是通过赋予地方当局权力。虽然转向低碳系统势在必行，但在本文中，我们呼吁人们关注广受赞誉的分布式电力技术实验应用于非洲时的复杂性、机遇和风险。我们借鉴乌干达的案例，解析了目前正在进行的一系列四个创新电力项目。对于每个案例，我们都会关注所涉及的参与者以及项目与现有网格之间的想象关系。从这些案例中，我们认为，在以有争议的城市治理和分散的网络为特征的非洲背景下，有必要认真关注支持城市规模的制度和基础设施发展，尽管在许多情况下被忽视。