A plan to light-up at least 125,000 homes with solar devices across Africa in 2014 has been announced by energy firm Econet Solar International (ESI).

ESI, which is a subsidiary of mobile operator Econet Wireless International, says that it plans to do this with its Home Power Stations (HPS), which uses solar energy to provide what the company says is affordable, clean and safe lighting to homes in off-grid communities.

More specifically, the HPS uses solar energy to power wireless LED light bulbs, charge GSM mobile phones and to provide the power necessary to use or charge a range of other accessories including mosquito repellents, TVs, fans and LED candles.

Also, thanks to links with mobile operator Econet Wireless, the HPS also has a prepaid option, which uses what is dubbed the IN platform that connects to a GSM Network. Econet Wireless, for example, is the biggest mobile operator in Zimbabwe.

And ESI adds in a statement -- delivered at AfricaCom in Cape Town -- that its Home Power Stations have been used already by about 8,000 people in 2,000 homes across Zimbabwe.

The HPS was first launched in Durban at COP17, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that happened in 2011.

ESI says that the HPS has since been fully tested and the latest generation comes with a range of new features including a battery twice the size of the original model.

The devices can also be paid for in installments.

“Many of our customers simply do not have the money to pay cash upfront for our device which costs in the region of $200,” said Luc Tanoh chief executive officer of Econet Solar.

“However they do have the ability to pay for candles, kerosene lamps and others sources of heat and light. Instead of asking customers to pay all of the cost upfront and overburdening them, we ask them for a small deposit of between $10 and $30.

“Thereafter, they then make smaller payments of around $0.25 per day which ensures the Home Power Station remains affordable,” said Tanoh.

Tanoh added, “We are very aware of the absence of a reliable power supply in many of the countries in which we operate. Not only do millions of people not have access to clean and safe lighting but, often our customers have to walk long distances to find a place where they can charge their phones. That’s something we want to and are changing.”

“We wanted to offer people a cleaner, elegant and safer solution to suit their needs for lighting and charging phones,” said Tanoh.

“And by combining the expertise we have developed across the Group over the years, we have developed and refined the HPS which can now be widely adopted by customers across the continent.”