Improvisational solutions to unstable electricity supply in northern Uganda
- Kirsten Milo Nielsen, PhD Candidate, Department of Social Anthropology, UiO
Kirsten Milo Nielsen’s presentation concerns consumers’ management of self-owned power systems in combination with the grid in northern Uganda. In response to intermittent supply of electricity through the national grid, electricity consumers in a village in northern Uganda have acquired solar (PV) panels and diesel generators as backup power sources. During the day, they switch between these sources according to load and grid outages. In their own words, they sometimes describe their use of alternatives as ‘improvisations’. Using ‘improvisation’ as a guiding concept, Kirsten Milo Nielsen aims to show how people in northern Uganda appropriate new technologies in creative ways to meet their energy needs and wants.
Titanic encounters: Energy as a geopolitical battleground in the Global South
- Gz. MeeNilankco Theiventhran PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, UiO and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
In the Global South, countries have committed to achieving carbon neutrality, but the region is also foreseeing more coal power plants. In light of their climate commitments, why are countries turning to coal power plants, knowing full well the environmental costs? Gz. MeeNilankco Theiventhran explores this puzzle with particular attention to the encounters between global and local actors, and the role of the state in the socio-political construction of the geopolitical battleground of energy – with a case study from Sri Lanka. MeeNilankco introduces the notion ‘titanic encounters’ where geopolitical actors, local political elites and the society contest and cooperate for power and influence over the energy sector. This transforms energy infrastructure into spaces for geopolitical contestation.
Each presentation will last for approximately 10-15 minutes, followed by a short open session (questions and discussion). The seminar is open to all!
You will be given a meeting ID when you sign up.