Empowerment Through Energy: How Empower a Billion Lives Seeks to Address Energy Access

Empower a Billion Lives (EBL) is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Power Electronics Society (PELS) initiative to address the problem of energy access for a large number of people worldwide. This article defines the problem of energy access and presents the history of EBL, while also explaining the activities and methods employed to nurture sustainable and scalable solutions. The technical and business solutions of previous prize winners are described and the past impact of the EBL program is enumerated.