We have already looked at how digital inclusion requires reliable access to the internet and the infrastructure needed to power it, but equally important is having enough time in the day available to take online courses, work remotely, or build valuable digital skills.
Time poverty occurs when unpaid domestic chores and paid work consume someone’s day, leaving them with almost no extra time. It goes hand-in-hand with economic poverty as people run out of the hours, energy, and mental bandwidth required to pursue educational programs or job opportunities that could improve their financial security.
It is a particular concern for remote towns where the electricity required to run time-saving appliances can be unreliable or insufficient. As the United Nations reports, the burden of household tasks like laundry, food preparation, and heating falls disproportionately on women and girls, who perform 2.5 times more domestic work than men globally.
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) bring sufficient and stable electricity in any weather or season to power the machines that speed up household labor and the computers that enable people advance their education and careers.
When Household Machines Fail
Families in grid-connected cities generally do not have to worry about whether there will be enough electricity to run appliances like washing machines, electric stoves and dishwashers to automate chores that could otherwise fill the day.
As researchers have argued, upgrading physical energy infrastructure offers policymakers a direct lever to eliminate time poverty. According to the United Nations, households around the world could save up to 40 hours of manual labor every week just by having access to clean and reliable cooking appliances.
Off-grid communities running on aging diesel generators break this promise of automation. Severe voltage sags, strict capacity limits, and sudden power surges stop heavy appliances from operating safely, routinely destroying sensitive home electronics during blackouts.
This does not just happen in places like Ghana and Guatemala. In early 2026, most of the diesel generators supplying Nibinamik First Nation in Northern Ontario suffered mechanical failures, forcing residents to ration power.
Relying on just one generator for the entire community led to unstable electricity and power surges, damaging expensive household appliances. As Band Manager Walter Oskineegish explained to a reporter, he has had to replace his washer and dryer three times in just two years.
Domestic Bottlenecks and Economic Costs
When energy infrastructure fails, domestic bottlenecks slow down daily life across remote households.
Without continuous refrigeration, families cannot safely store perishables, forcing them into labor-intensive daily food preparation or frequent travel to secure fresh supplies.
When microgrids cannot support electric water heaters, residents must spend hours manually heating water on stovetops for dishes, bathing, and laundry.
These lost hours carry a steep economic cost because time spent on basic household survival directly prevents individuals from earning income, running small businesses, or completing online education.
Eliminating these bottlenecks can have a huge impact on a family’s financial security. According to global figures from the United Nations, reliable grid power increases women’s employment by 9 to 23 percentage points.
Reclaiming Hours Through Clean Baseload Power
Eradicating time poverty requires sufficient and reliable electricity that permanently stabilizes remote microgrids.
SMRs deliver the steady baseload power needed to run heavy appliances, water heaters, and digital hardware simultaneously without overloading local networks or triggering damaging voltage swings. They operate in any weather and produce electricity at predictable prices for many years without refueling, further stabilizing household finances and mental loads.
Automating manual chores turns lost hours into valuable new economic possibilities for communities. Reclaimed time allows remote residents to pursue degrees, join the remote workforce, and build local businesses. SMRs provide the foundation for the digital and economic inclusion of remote communities
In part four of this series, we will explore the broader economic impacts of energy insecurity, with a look at how unreliable electricity limits local entrepreneurship, hinders business growth, and drives residents to leave remote communities in search of work elsewhere.
