Delivery models for decentralised rural electrification
Access to affordable, reliable and clean energy is fundamental for poverty reduction and sustainable development; without it, the Millennium Development Goals cannot be achieved. Electrification, along with access to modern cooking fuels and mechanical power, is a catalyst for improvements in the fields of poverty reduction, food security, health, education and gender equality. Nevertheless, 1.3 billion people still lack access to electricity, of which over 95 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia and 84 percent are in rural areas. The purpose of this report is to analyse the impact of delivery models on the creation of sustainable welfare benefits. Three case studies are selected, comprising one renewable energy mini-grid project or programme from Nepal, Peru and Kenya. Although rural electrification poses a great challenge to all three countries (only 32 percent of rural Nepalese, 23 percent of rural Peruvians and 10 percent of rural Kenyans have access to electricity in their homes), their different physical, institutional, economic and socio-cultural contexts have led to different approaches to rural electrification.