It's 7 p.m. in Kenya. A restaurant is packed. No one is talking. The music is off. Everyone is watching the news on TV. Some of the people walked miles to get there. This is common in a country where only 30 percent of the people have a television. Many have no electricity. It's one of the biggest problems facing the second biggest continent.In sub-Saharan Africa, about 625 million people live without electric power. Most of them are in remote areas. Electrical grids can't reach them. But even those who are connected have problems. In lots of places the electricity doesn't work all of the time. In Ghana, people call the power dum/sor, or "off/on," because it flickers so much. People have to make do. They often use pricey, polluting generators for power. Expensive kerosene lamps are used for light.But Africa does have a possible answer: the sun. For years, solar panels were expensive. But costs have gone down. Now they are affordable. Light bulbs and appliances have also become more efficient. Businesspeople are working to come up with ways to bring power to the people off the grid.One idea is to make microgrids. Microgrids are small electrical grids. Instead of running wires to create a huge grid, individual towns would be connected to a smaller source of solar electricity. That idea has already taken shape in Bisanti, Nigeria. There, the Green Village Energy company installed 126 solar panels. The panels power the entire town.Another idea is to design kits that can power a single house. The kits are made up of a small solar panel, battery, wires, and plugs. Several companies are trying out this method in Africa. One of them is Lumos. It provides Nigerians with enough cheap power for two to three hours of TV watching and cell phone charging a night. Another, M-Kopa, has brought power to more than 600,000 houses. Its kits come with a fan, lights, and a television complete with 30 free channels.Fenix is another company in Uganda. It has sold 140,000 of its kits. The kits can power everything from a single cell phone charger to a stove, radio, and satellite TV. They're not expensive. But they're not free. Most are "pay as you go." Customers pay a fee at the beginning. Then they make small payments for years. At the end, they own the kit, and power is free.Electricity is greatly changing lives. Something as small as a fan makes a big difference. Many parts of Africa are very hot. Houses often don't have windows or air conditioners. Power also allows for refrigeration. That means hospitals can store items such as vaccines. Students benefit, too. Light at night means more time for them to read and study.Wealthy people, governments, and the World Bank all have pledged money to help the solar industry. Some think solar power could be like cell phones. In Africa, phones were once rare. Many people lived beyond the reach of telephone lines. But cellular networks brought phone service across the continent. The hope is that off-grid solar could grow the same way. It could bring power to places where it once seemed out of reach.TO-DONOTESVOCABULARYQUESTION 1QUESTION 1 OF 8 1 / 8What is this Article mainly about?A.M-Kopa is selling kits that come with a TV, a fan, and lights.B.People in Ghana have a name for electricity that flickers.C.Solar power is bringing electricity to more places in Africa.D.Fenix customers pay a fee and then make payments to get a kit.SUBMITExtrasHIGHLIGHTDICTIONARYSCREEN MASKINGREAD ALOUDTRANSLATE© 2024 Achieve3000 Inc. and its licensors.All Rights Reserved.