Rural Energy II

The development objective of the proposed Rural Energy II project is to provide rural communities with access to good quality, affordably priced electricity services in an efficient and sustainable manner. Its global environmental objective is to achieve major GHG reductions by removing the barriers to achieving and sustaining much higher efficiency levels in rural power distribution. RE II will achieve these objectives through: (a) rehabilitation and major repair of the existing rural power network in 1,000 communes and extension of the grid for the first time to 200 additional communes (baseline); (b) creation of a policy framework and capacity to ensure the new and rehabilitated systems are sustainably operated and maintained at high levels of efficiency; and (c) institutional reform in support of implementing the national rural electrification strategy. When the networks have been rehabilitated or created, they will be be at best practice levels of technical and financial efficiency. The technical support, regulatory framework, and institutional reform components of the project will establish formal local distribution utilities (LDUs) with sufficiently strong commercial and technical capacity to enable continued efficient operation and maintenance, as well as legal, commercial and financial autonomy within an orderly and well-regulated sector structure. The project will also replicate best practices in rehabilitation, management and operations to other communes, districts and provinces that do not participate directly in it.