LE A R N ING PR O DUC T

Reliable and
Affordable
Off-Grid
Electricity
Services for
the Poor:
Le s s ons fr om the Wor ld
B a nk G r oup E x p e r ie nce
© 2016 International Bank for Reconstruction This work is a product of the staff of The World RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS
and Development / The World Bank Bank with external contributions. The findings, The material in this work is subject to copyright.
1818 H Street NW interpretations, and conclusions expressed in Because The World Bank encourages
Washington, DC 20433 this work do not necessarily reflect the views dissemination of its knowledge, this work
Telephone: 202-473-1000 of The World Bank, its Board of Executive may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for
Internet: www.worldbank.org Directors, or the governments they represent. noncommercial purposes as long as full
attribution to this work is given.
The World Bank does not guarantee the
accuracy of the data included in this work. Any queries on rights and licenses, including
The boundaries, colors, denominations, and subsidiary rights, should be addressed to
other information shown on any map in this World Bank Publications, The World Bank
work do not imply any judgment on the part Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC
of The World Bank concerning the legal 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail:
status of any territory or the endorsement pubrights@worldbank.org.
or acceptance of such boundaries.
Reliable and Affordable Off-Grid Electricity
Services for the Poor: Lessons from World
Bank Group Experience

An IEG Learning Product

Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................................................................................................... V

OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................... VI
Background ............................................................................................................................................................... vi
The Coming of Age of Off-Grid Access Delivery: World Bank Group’s Catalyzing Role ......................................... vii
Implications from Good Practice Examples ............................................................................................................ viii
Findings and Lessons – Strategic considerations for scaling up off-grid electrification in low access countries. ..... ix
Putting People (Beneficiaries) First, Not Technology Solutions ............................................................................................ix
Grid versus Off-Grid: A Falsely Framed Binary Choice.........................................................................................................ix
Private and Public Sector Engagement: Both Play Roles in Catalyzing and Enabling Scale-Up of Off-Grid Access Rollout
for Tier 1 and 2 Markets ........................................................................................................................................................ x
Multiple Advantages of a High-Level Network Planning Platform That Is Anchored in a Geospatial and Comprehensive
Plan Covering Grid and Off-Grid Means ...............................................................................................................................xi
Sectorwide Organizing Architecture and Programmatic Financing Show Promise ..............................................................xi

1. SETTING THE CONTEXT .......................................................................................................... 1

The Independent Evaluation Group’s Strategic Evaluation of Electricity Access ...................................................... 1
Terminology: What Is Considered Off-Grid Electrification?....................................................................................... 3
The Scope of This Report ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Audience ................................................................................................................................................................... 6

2. OFF-GRID ELECTRIFICATION’S COMING OF AGE: PIVOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE

WORLD BANK GROUP .......................................................................................................................... 7
Large-Scale Rollout of SHS Systems and Services: Bangladesh ............................................................................. 8
Deploying SHS in Remote Areas ............................................................................................................................ 10
Rapid Market Penetration of Solar Products for access tiers 1 and 2: The Lighting Africa and Lighting Global
Programs................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Micro- and Minigrids ................................................................................................................................................ 16
Productive Uses and Welfare Outcomes ................................................................................................................ 19

3. OFF-GRID ELECTRIFICATION PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION: “THE NEXT

GENERATION” ..................................................................................................................................... 20
Off-Grid Electrification and Implementation: “The Next Generation” of transformational programs ........................ 21
A National Roadmap for Universal Access Effectively Navigated: Morocco ........................................................... 30

4. STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS FOR MOVING FORWARD ....................................................... 32

Off-Grid Electrification: Framing the Key Strategic Questions Differently ............................................................... 33
Put People (Beneficiaries) First, Not Technology Solutions ................................................................................................ 33
Grid versus Off-Grid: a Falsely Framed Binary Choice ....................................................................................................... 34
Private and Public Sector Engagement: Both must Play their due Roles in enabling and Catalyzing Efficient and Rapid
Scale-Up of Off-Grid Access Rollout for Tier 1 and 2 Markets ............................................................................................ 37
Multiple Advantages of a High-Level Network Planning Platform That Is Anchored in a Geospatial and Comprehensive
Plan Covering Grid and Off-Grid Means ............................................................................................................................. 37
Sectorwide Organizing Architecture and Programmatic Financing Shows Promise ........................................................... 38

ii
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................... 39

APPENDIX A: OFF-GRID ELECTRIFICATION ISSUES AND STRATEGIES IN COUNTRY

PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY DOCUMENTS OF LOW-ACCESS COUNTRIES ................................... 42

APPENDIX B: WORLD BANK AND IFC PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW FOR OFF-GRID

ELECTRIFICATION .............................................................................................................................. 44

APPENDIX C: WORLD BANK OPERATIONS AND IFC PROJECTS WITH OFF-GRID

ELECTRIFICATION OBJECTIVES OR COMPONENTS, FY2000–16 ................................................. 46

APPENDIX D: OFF-GRID ELECTRIFICATION: SUMMARIES OF WORLD BANK GROUP

EXPERIENCES IN SELECTED COUNTRIES; AND OTHER PRIVATE SECTOR EFFORTS ............. 65

APPENDIX E: REFERENCES FOR APPENDIX D .............................................................................. 82

Boxes
Box 1.1 Lighting Africa; Lighting Global: Transformational Off-Grid Program for T1 and T2 access for
the Poor ................................................................................................................................................ 13
Box 3.1. Rwanda Geospatial National Electrification Rollout Plan and Investment Financing .............. 24

Tables
Table 3.1. Donor Financing Roundtable, Kigali, Rwanda, April 2009 .................................................... 25
Table 3.2. Rwanda: Partner Pledges: Prospectus Donor Financing Round Table (2009–2014) ........... 26
Table 3.3. Rwanda’s Off-Grid Access Share in Providing Comprehensive Coverage of Public Facilities
.............................................................................................................................................................. 27

Figures
Figure 1.1 Levels of Electricity Access .................................................................................................... 5
Figure 1.2. Off-Grid Solar Solutions Allow Consumers to Climb the Energy Access “Ladder” ................ 5
Figure 2.1. World Bank Group Portfolio for Off-Grid Electrification: Projects Approved or Closed
FY2000–16 ............................................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 2.2. Bangladesh: Cumulative SHS Installations Financed by All Development Partners ........... 10
Figure 2.3. Pico-Photovoltaic Solar Products: Cumulative Quality Verified Product Sales .................... 12
Figure 2.4. Solar Home System with 19" TV, Radio, and Lights ($US/unit) ......................................... 15
Figure 2.5. Estimated Cumulative Sales of Pico-Solar Lighting Products in Sub-Saharan Africa and
Asia, 2011–2015 ................................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 3.1. Pico-Solar Products: Cumulative Sales in Kenya ................................................................ 29

iii
Abbreviations
CAS country assistance strategy
CPS country partnership strategy
IBRD International Bank of Reconstruction and Development
IEA International Energy Agency
IEG Independent Evaluation Group
IDA International Development Association
IFC International Finance Corporation
SHS solar home systems

Evaluation Managers
 Caroline Heider Director-General, Evaluation
 Marvin Taylor-Dormond Director, Financial, Private Sector and Sustainable Development
 Midori Makino Manager, Sustainable Development
 Ramachandra Jammi Task Manager

iv
Acknowledgments
This Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) learning product was prepared by a team
consisting of Ramachandra Jammi (senior evaluation officer and task team leader),
Arun Sanghvi (senior adviser and consultant), Natsuko Toba (senior economist and
consultant), and Katsumasa Hamaguchi (evaluation officer). Yunsun Li (consultant)
provided research assistance. This product draws on an unpublished background
paper prepared by Istvan Dobozi (senior adviser and consultant) for the IEG
evaluation of World Bank Group support for electricity access (IEG 2015). The
product was prepared under the direction of Marvin Taylor-Dormond and Midori
Makino with the guidance of Caroline Heider. The report was peer reviewed by
Morgan Bazilian (lead energy specialist) and Raihan Elahi (senior energy specialist)
in the World Bank. Richard Kraus formatted the document.

v
Overview
This learning product (study) draws upon existing IEG evaluations, project
documents and analytical work relating to the World Bank Group’s (WBG’s)
experience with supporting efforts towards the rapid scale up of off-grid
electrification (“pico-solar” products, individual solar home systems [SHSs], and
micro and mini-grids), in client countries. The focus is on experiences geared
towards efficiently and effectively integrating off-grid electrification scale-up efforts
with grid rollout – within a national roadmap for achieving universal access in a
given time-frame. Relevant findings and lessons are framed as strategic
considerations to inform the design, development and implementation of country
engagements tailored to the prevailing sector conditions and readiness; through
capacity building, technical assistance, and investment lending.

Background
In recent years, there has been renewed focus on the 1.1 billion people around the
world without any access to electricity from either the conventional grid or any off-
grid or stand-alone source. Most of these people are poor and are held back from
their potential for human development and from the improved quality of life that
can be enabled by access to electricity services.1 In Sub-Saharan Africa alone there
are over 600 million people without access, and this figure may rise to 935 million in
2030 if the population grows as projected and the pace of new electricity connections
remains at the average annual rate of the last 10 years (IEG 2015).

Against this background, the World Bank Group and the United Nations have
committed to the Sustainable Energy for All initiative2, which is reinforced by
Sustainable Development Goal 7 (“ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable
and modern energy for all”) and the World Bank Group’s goals of ending extreme
poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

The IEG report World Bank Group’s Support for Electricity Access, FY2000–2014
(IEG 2015) presented to the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in 2015, was
a strategic evaluation of the engagement, operations, and outcomes of the entire

1Another 1 billion people around the world who are connected to the grid still experience a
highly unreliable and inadequate power supply, which triggers high welfare costs; they are
not the focus of this study.
2 http://www.se4all.org/
vi
Bank Group portfolio in this sector for fiscal years (FY) 2000–14, related to the
provision of adequate, reliable, and affordable electricity access. The report noted
that the World Bank Group’s support for off-grid electrification was a small
proportion of its overall portfolio for the electricity sector during FY2000–14.
However, the report also recognized a rapidly growing trend and scope in several
countries in the adoption of portable solar products that can speedily bring, at a
minimum, basic electricity services—lighting, fans, small television, and cell phone
charging—to those who have little prospect of receiving grid-based electricity for
several years or even decades.

An updated and in-depth examination of World Bank and International Finance

Corporation (IFC) operations approved or closed during FY2000–16 identified 83
projects—71 Bank projects and 12 IFC operations—that were either dedicated to or
had a component for off-grid electrification. The total commitment for World Bank
Group projects for off-grid applications during this period was US$1.594 billion,
estimated at about 2.5 percent of Bank Group lending for the electricity sector.

The World Bank’s projects with off-grid components are concentrated in 10

countries (five low-, four high-, and one medium-access country). The countries
received 78 percent of all World Bank assistance for off-grid electrification during
FY2000–16. Bangladesh alone accounted for 32 percent of this lending, followed by
Argentina (12 percent). The shares for Mali, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Uganda, India, Sri
Lanka, Bolivia, and Liberia ranged between 7 percent and 2 percent. The
predominant portion of the lending was for individual SHSs.

The Coming of Age of Off-Grid Access Delivery: World Bank Group’s Catalyzing
Role
From a near-standing start less than 10 years ago, more than 100 companies are now
actively focusing on stand-alone solar lanterns and SHS kits targeted at those
without modern energy access. They have sold over 14 million quality-certified pico-
solar products (defined as having a photovoltaic panel smaller than 10 watts),
mainly portable lights, as of mid-2015. These products provide basic electricity
access for millions of people in Africa and Asia and have lifted 21 million
individuals to the first rung of the energy ladder, according to our estimates. This
rapid growth has been stimulated and supported by the World Bank and IFC’s
Lighting Africa program and its successor, the Lighting Global program, which
pioneered well-designed and targeted technical assistance for improving quality
assurance and service delivery. Though no firm estimates are available, the value of
quality-certified pico-solar products is several orders of magnitude higher than the

vii
relatively small outlay for technical assistance from the Lighting Africa and Lighting
Global programs.

Despite some significant pilot examples of micro-grid and mini-grid project

components supported by the World Bank Group and in the private sector, scaling
up continues to pose a challenge – in terms of institutional arrangements and for
commercially viable business models. This contrasts with the expectations from the
International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2014 New
Policies Scenario of SSA for universal access by 2040, in which 315 million people in
rural areas are expected to gain access to electricity, with around 80 million (25
percent) of them through stand-alone off-grid systems, and around 140 million (44
percent) through mini-grids requiring the development of between 100,000 and
200,000 mini-grids, depending on the number of households connected to each
system (IEA 2014).

Implications from Good Practice Examples

This study highlights good practice country program experiences in supporting
commercially viable and rapidly scalable off-grid access and services provision
models and institutional frameworks. These encompass supply and service delivery
chains for SHSs and microgrids as well as the technologically and commercially fast-
evolving pico-solar products and their growing transformative record. These
experiences have taken different routes in mainstreaming off-grid electrification
according to their own needs and context. In Bangladesh, the scaled-up SHS
program in grid-proximate areas took hold as an opportunistic market response to
the then-stalled grid extension program; in Sri Lanka off-grid electrification (initially
isolated village hydro mini-grid networks) grew out of an ex-ante strategy, anchored
by an island-wide spatial electrification plan, and implemented as staged pre-
electrification till such time as planned grid extensions arrived at those locations; in
Rwanda and Kenya, off-grid electrification is proceeding in an ex ante planned
manner; Morocco presents a case in which the cycle of planned pre-electrification
has transitioned to mostly grid-based electrification; and most recently, Myanmar –
drawing on preceding good practice experiences, has also embarked on a conscious
strategy of ex-ante planned pre-electrification – designing an off-grid program that
promotes solar products, SHS and isolated mini-grid networks coordinated with
grid expansion.

This collective experience illuminates valuable insights and strategic considerations

for low access countries that are looking to efficiently and rapidly achieve universal
electricity access. From a strategic, nationwide perspective, realizing the full

viii
potential of off-grid electrification in each country-specific context calls for a
comprehensive approach that can leverage the dynamics of access expansion
through both grid and off-grid means in a coordinated manner in space and time.

Findings and Lessons – Strategic considerations for scaling up off-grid

electrification in low access countries.
The experience and good practices from countries—with Bank support or
otherwise—yield the following insights:

PUTTING PEOPLE (BENEFICIARIES) FIRST, NOT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

 People want affordable, adequate, reliable access “yesterday.” From a
personal as well as a social and national perspective, the opportunity costs of
delay in providing even basic access are very high—tantamount to depriving
another generation of the benefits of modern services, including education
and health care services. Time is of the essence.

 Access to even small quantities of modern electricity—sufficient to power

basic modern lighting, cell phone charging, a small radio or television—can
trigger a giant step for that are without any access. The United Nations
Sustainable Energy for All Global Tracking Framework’s tier 1 and tier 2
market segments typify this first hugely transformative step of demand for
basic access.

 Significantly, over time, peoples' expectations tend to grow, and almost all
aspire to electricity access comparable in adequacy, quality, and reliability
that is typical of a well-managed utility-run grid system.

 A national roadmap for achieving universal access (“electricity for all”),

irrespective of where people are located (for example, urban areas, including
any slums; peri-urban; rural; or rural), can avoid or counter tendencies
toward “cherry picking” geographical service areas or beneficiaries, whether
for grid or off-grid rollout.

GRID VERSUS OFF-GRID: A FALSELY FRAMED BINARY CHOICE

 The “grid versus off-grid” trade-off needs to be framed in relation to
complementarity and coordination geared toward universal access. Grid and
off-grid technologies and access service delivery are not necessarily either-or
options to be determined simply based on a narrow least-cost calculus.
Rather, looking ahead, off-grid access provision is appropriately viewed as

ix
 playing a complementary and coordinated role alongside grid rollout in the
process of achieving universal access.

 The manner in which the off-grid and grid combination plays out during
implementation varies by country and is dynamic in space and over time, as
for instance in the cases of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Morocco. This may
come about in response to progress—or lack thereof—in the respective grid
rollout and off-grid rollout implementation in the field; to potential factors
such as evolving customer expectations and aspirations for service standards
and the sociopolitical policy responses to those; and possibly to other real-
time triggers.

 Off-grid electrification can play a significant role in most low-access countries

in the near future. In many countries, grid rollout has yet to get under way. In
others, it has stalled or advanced in starts and stops and at an unpredictable
pace on account of one or more factors in sector readiness conditions, such as
governance, institutional framework, capacity, long-term vision, targets,
commitment and sustained follow-through, lack of accountability, or on-and-
off rather than programmatic finance, not taking into account the commercial
viability for the qualified private sector agents engaging in access rollout.

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR ENGAGEMENT: BOTH PLAY ROLES IN CATALYZING AND ENABLING SCALE-UP
OF OFF-GRID ACCESS ROLLOUT FOR TIER 1 AND 2 MARKETS

In tracing the evolution of off-grid access delivery across the WBG portfolio
(sections 2 and 3) two noteworthy features are: (i) the evolving scope and roles of
the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) engagements in
response to opportunity for maximizing the synergies resulting from their respective
strengths and comparative advantages in enabling early stage (“pre-market")
development, and (ii) assisting the client countries in designing the participation of
the private and public sectors working in close partnership, bringing their respective
natural roles and comparative strengths towards scale up delivery for realizing the
national goal of universal access efficiently and rapidly

The complementary roles of the public and private sectors are to be seen in
Bangladesh where the World Bank played a key role by supporting IDCOL, an
autonomous government undertaking, in mentoring and promoting private sector
operators, NGOs, and microfinance institutions for deploying SHS in a competitive
business model. The WBG’s Lighting Global Program has engaged in design and
preparation of a substantial scale off-grid electrification program for Tier 1 and 2
segments, aided by the spatial information provided by the nationwide geospatial
least cost plans funded by the World Bank and grid extension plan over time. The

x
instances of Kenya, Rwanda and Myanmar typify country cases where the World
Bank assisted the Government with preparation of the national least cost geospatial
electrification implementation plan for universal access by 2030 (grid and alongside
coordinated in space-time the off grid program scale up), and syndication of the
investment financing requirements orchestrated by the governments’ within a sector
wide organizing architecture and oversight process.

MULTIPLE ADVANTAGES OF A HIGH-LEVEL NETWORK PLANNING PLATFORM THAT IS ANCHORED IN A

GEOSPATIAL AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN COVERING GRID AND OFF-GRID MEANS
 Providing access (in some form) to all households, clinics, and trading
centers—wherever they may be—requires identifying where the
beneficiaries are located geospatially. This enables least-cost placement
and expansion of existing electricity access infrastructure. Sound
geospatial planning platforms that can be readily updated to reflect
changes in key variables have been shown to provide a comprehensive
analytical foundation for and a dynamically coordinated strategic-level
rollout implementation of grid and off-grid growth in space and time.
Such planning facilitates further detailing of design and rollout
operationally.
 The national geospatial least-cost strategic rollout plan serves to further
anchor and foster closer alignment of multiple and varied donor
programs with national priorities and targets and to effect harmonization
across donor programs. It also facilitates and directs financing support
(called syndication) of the investment prospectus on-grid or off-grid and
in space and time (more below).

SECTORWIDE ORGANIZING ARCHITECTURE AND PROGRAMMATIC FINANCING SHOW PROMISE

 Sector-wide organizing architecture and programmatic financing can be
effective for rallying and orchestrating stakeholder participation in closer
alignment with national priorities than otherwise; as well as syndication of
program financing of an integrated grid and of-grid rollout, up to a medium-
term horizon. Specifically, the sector wide investment prospectus for grid and
off-grid expansion¬ would be anchored by the overall least cost geospatial
rollout plan to achieve the time-bound targets set by Government; together
with the enabling policy and institutional framework being in place.

xi
1. Setting the Context
Introduction
1.1 In recent years, there has been renewed focus on the 1.1 billion people around
the world who are without any access to electricity from either the conventional grid
or any off-grid or stand-alone source. Most of these people are poor and are held
back from their potential for human development and the improved quality of life
that can be enabled by access to electricity services.3 In Sub-Saharan Africa alone it
is estimated that about 600 million people were without access in 2012 (IEA and
World Bank 2015), and this figure may rise to 935 million in 2030 if the population
grows at the projected rate and the pace of new electricity connections remains at the
average annual rate of the last 10 years (IEG 2015).4

1.2 Against this background, the World Bank Group and the United Nations
have committed to the Sustainable Energy for All initiative5, which seeks to achieve
universal access to energy by 2030 and improve energy efficiency and the use of
renewable energy. This initiative is reinforced by Sustainable Development Goal 7
(“ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”) and
the World Bank Group’s goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared
prosperity.6

The Independent Evaluation Group’s Strategic Evaluation of Electricity Access

1.3 The Bank Group’s commitment to assist client countries in moving toward
the Sustainable Energy for All goal together with other development partners was
the backdrop for the comprehensive evaluation by the Independent Evaluation
Group (IEG), World Bank Group’s Support for Electricity Access, FY2000–2014 (IEG
2015), which was presented to the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in
2015. The report was a strategic evaluation of the engagement, operations, and

3Another 1 billion people around the world who are connected to the grid still experience a
highly unreliable and inadequate power supply, which triggers high welfare costs; they are
not the focus of this study.
4The Independent Evaluation Group’s report’s estimates are indicative and based on
average growth of connections in last 10 years up 2014 along with projected population
growth (IEG 2015).
5 http://www.se4all.org/
6 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/

1
outcomes of the entire Bank Group portfolio for fiscal years (FY) 2000–14 as they
related to the provision of adequate, reliable, and affordable electricity access to all.
These operations encompassed generation, transmission, and distribution and were
differentiated across country groups by level of access.7

1.4 To achieve universal access by 2030, the report estimated that the pace of
connections in low-access countries (those with less than 50 percent of the
population connected—mostly low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa) needs
to rise from the present average of 2 million per year8 to about 15 million per year
for the next 15 years. This translates to an increase of investments from
US$3.6 billion per year to about US$37 billion per year, including for new generation
capacity and rehabilitation of the electricity sector’s physical assets. This huge
increase in connections is unlikely to result solely or predominantly from grid
expansion alone in the time frame set by global access goals.

1.5 The Bank Group’s 2013 directions paper for the energy sector, “Toward a
Sustainable Energy Future for All: Directions for the World Bank Group’s Energy
Sector,” contains the Bank Group’s approach to off-grid electrification (World Bank
2013b). In countries with low energy access, the World Bank Group’s priority would
be “to support affordable and reliable energy through all means, grid, minigrid, and
off-grid.” In rural, remote, or isolated areas, off-grid solutions based on renewable
energy combined with energy-efficient technologies would be the most rapid means
of providing cost-effective energy services. The paper notes that “grid, minigrid, and
off-grid solutions are all needed, that they are not mutually exclusive, and can be
implemented in parallel or, under specific conditions, in sequence.” The strategies
proposed in the directions paper are reflected only to a limited extent (less than one-
third) in country partnership strategies (CPSs) effective 2014 or later for low-access
countries where off-grid electrification is likely to be of relevance. A fuller analysis
in this regard of CPSs for 50 low-access countries in the last 10 years is presented in
appendix A.

1.6 IEG’s 2015 electricity access report noted that the World Bank Group’s
investment support for off-grid electrification—mainly SHS, portable solar products
for lighting and cell phone charging, and a small number of micro- and minigrids—
was a small proportion of the World Bank Group’s overall portfolio for the
electricity sector during FY2000–14. The penetration of SHS is concentrated in a few

7Countries are classified in terms of the percentage of population having access to

electricity: Low (up to 50 percent); Medium (>50 to 75 percent); High (>75 to 95 percent);
Universal: (>95 percent). This is consistent with IEG’s 2015 electricity access study.
8 Predominantly household connections, though the breakup is not available.

2
countries, namely Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and is in a nascent
stage in several other countries.

1.7 At the same time, the report recognized a positive and growing trend and
scope for the adoption of solar products that can speedily bring, at a minimum, basic
electricity services—lighting, fan, television, and cell phone charging—to those who
have little prospect of receiving grid-based electricity for several years or even
decades. This is seen in the proliferation of quality-certified portable cash-and-carry
pico-solar products for lighting and cell phone charging, enabled by the targeted
support for starter and early markets by the joint IFC-World Bank Lighting Africa
program, which has evolved into the present Lighting Global program.

1.8 These experiences are particularly relevant for low-access countries, many of
which are in fragile situations, have significant shares of dispersed populations
without prospect of electricity access, or do not have enabling sector conditions
sufficiently in place for systematic and rapid access scale-up through grid extensions
and supply.

Terminology: What Is Considered Off-Grid Electrification?

1.9 For the strategic evaluation purposes of this report, off-grid electrification is
viewed in the following categories, which span a variety of products, services, and
technologies and reflect recent and emerging trends in the provision of off-grid
access (World Bank 2011).

 Isolated network systems with generation plants (microgrids and minigrids).

Microgrids typically range from 30 kilowatts9 to 500 kilowatts and use a range of
technologies, from simple diesel generators to hydropower, biomass,
photovoltaic, wind, or hybrid systems. Larger minigrids are typically above
1 megawatt capacity, and can provide sufficient power for activities such as
water pumping, milling, grinding and other forms of processing.

 Individual systems. These include SHS, which range from household-sized

systems of 30–100 watt peak10 capable of powering a few bulbs, a fan, and

9A microgrid with a 30 kilowatt capacity can cater to about 200 households for lighting,
television, and possibly small appliances.
10Watt peak stands for peak power. This value specifies the output power achieved by a
solar module under full solar radiation

3
 possibly a small television, to institutional sizes (100–500 watt peak) for use in
small community centers, schools, or health centers.

 Pico-solar photovoltaic charging products. (This term is used interchangeably in

this report with the terms solar products and pico-solar products.) Such products are
for modern lighting, cell phone charging, and so on, and are linked with solar or
grid-based charging.

1.10 A multitier framework for defining and measuring the level of access to
electricity was introduced through the Sustainable Energy for All initiative. In
contrast to the binary measurement of electricity access undertaken historically, the
Global Tracking Framework distinguishes five levels of access.11 The schematic in
figure 1.1 illustrates the corresponding service level tiers (tier 1 through tier 5). Each
tier is differentiated by the typical electricity end uses that can be powered and the
associated number of hours per day for which that access should be available.
Specifically these range from simple task lighting, phone charging, and radio (tier 1)
and general lighting, television, and fan (tier 2) at one end, to the use of the full
range of modern appliances such as air conditioners at the other end (tier 5; World
Bank 2015). Further, the expectations for duration and reliability of service increase
with the tier level. Tier 1 and 2 services should be available for at least four hours a
day, and tier 5 services should be available for 23 hours in a day.

1.11 Tier 1 services are fully supported by off-grid solar products, including pico-
solar products. Tier 2 access is technically and economically feasible with off-grid
solar, especially SHS, and increasingly so by pico-solar products, as more efficient
lighting and gadgets become available. Isolated network systems (microgrids or
minigrids)—if properly designed and maintained—are capable of providing tier 3
services (air cooling, refrigeration, water pumps, and rice cookers) or higher tier
services in the case of larger minigrid systems (figure 1.2).

11Access to electricity is measured based on technology-neutral multitiered standards for

which successive thresholds for supply attributes allow increased use of electricity
appliances. The key attributes relevant for household electricity are (i) capacity; (ii) duration
(including daily supply and evening supply); (iii) reliability; (iv) quality; (v) affordability;
(vi) legality; and (vii) health and safety (World Bank 2015).

4
Figure 1.1 Levels of Electricity Access

Source: Bloomberg Energy Finance et al 2016

Note: The power supply also needs to cover at least two evening hours for tier 1, 2, and 3, four evening hours for tiers 4
and 5; be affordable from tier 3 to tier 5; and be assessed on reliability, quality, legality, and health and safety for tiers 4
and 5.

Figure 1.2. Off-Grid Solar Solutions Allow Consumers to Climb the Energy Access “Ladder”

Source: Presentation Leo Blyth, Energy Access Global Solutions Group, March 9, 2016.
Note: AC = alternating current; DC = direct current.

1.12 In the following sections, this report highlights the emergence of an expanded
array of market-proven solar options, that is, products and service delivery for

5
effectively achieving tier 1 and tier 2 markets for access. They are now “market
proven” and available for mainstreaming and rapid penetration within the context
of an overall sector strategy for implementing universal access by 2030. These cover
quality-certified solar products ranging from plug-and-play solar kits, which can
provide sufficient power for the most basic services of essential lighting and cell
phone charging, up to SHS kits rated 100 watt peak and beyond, and related services
delivery. These products can potentially and rapidly provide access to basic
electricity services to the billion people that make do today with far inferior and
more expensive sources of energy such as kerosene, wood, or candles and get them
to the first step of the energy access “ladder” (figure 1.2).

The Scope of This Report

1.13 This learning product study draws upon existing evaluations of the
Independent Evaluation group (IEG), and a wide-ranging literature review to derive
key principles and lessons from the World Bank Group's experience with supporting
the rapid scale up of off-grid electrification on a sustainable basis in client countries.
The purpose is to identify key strategic directions and essential building blocks of an
enabling policy and institutional framework for planning, financing and
orchestrating a planned and coordinated rollout - in space and time - of off-grid and
grid electrification alongside. This study is not a toolkit for detailed project design,
service delivery model specifications, technology, or payment mechanisms for off-
grid electrification. It is not so much about identifying best practice answers or
implications for one question per se: how or what to do in off-grid electrification
operationally. Rather, the study gathers the findings and lessons of experience in
the World Bank Group and from other actors to understand the context and
mechanisms underlying experiences and instances where rapid and efficient scale
up of off-grid electrification has been achieved in client countries. This with a view
to putting forth key considerations as well as implications for the World Bank
Group to assist in framing the right questions in a country-specific context with
respect to strategic directions for operational strategy development and for
engagement, technical assistance and lending; for scaling up off-grid
implementation alongside the grid extension program.

Audience
1.14 The main audience for this report is staff and task team leaders of the Global
Practice for Energy and Extractives, who are concerned with designing and
operationalizing electricity access scale-up implementation under diverse country

6
contexts and levels of sector “readiness.” The study is of particular relevance to task
team leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa, where most of the low-access countries are
situated with a wide diversity of sector readiness conditions and start-up
challenges.12 The messages from the study would also be of interest to policymakers
and sector practitioners in client countries, other multilateral and bilateral lenders
and donors, and nongovernmental organizations.

1.15 The rest of the report is organized as follows:

Section 2 traces how off-grid electrification has come of age in its ability to serve
both tier 1 and 2 category access needs in several developing countries. The
pivotal ways in which the World Bank Group has contributed to these
developments is examined with respect to individual SHSs, scaling up the use of
solar products with relatively small financial outlays, and micro- or minigrids.

Section 3 builds on the evidence for off-grid electrification as a mainstream

component of broader national efforts to increase electricity access. It highlights
several country examples that embody the “next generation” of off-grid
electrification strategic planning and implementation staging.

Section 4 brings together the findings and lessons from the World Bank Group’s
experience for strategic considerations, operational directions, and implications,
keeping the country-specific context in focus.

2. Off-Grid Electrification’s Coming of Age:

Pivotal Contributions by the World Bank Group
2.1 The World Bank Group’s contribution to advancing commercially viable and
readily scalable off-grid access delivery over the last decade, especially in the tier 1
and tier 2 access categories, has been transformative in several respects. Despite
relatively low and sporadic lending for off-grid electrification (in comparison to
overall electricity sector lending), the World Bank has supported sound service
delivery mechanisms for solar home systems (SHSs) in South Asia, while the World
Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have jump-started the market
for pico-solar products in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

12
This also applies to other countries that are advancing their electric access, such as
Myanmar, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and other Pacific Island countries.

7
2.2 This section traces how off-grid electrification has come of age in its ability to
serve both tier 1 and tier 2 category access needs in several developing countries.
The pivotal ways in which the Bank Group has contributed to these developments is
examined with respect to individual SHSs, scaling up the use of solar products
(mainly with technical assistance and relatively small financial outlays), and micro-
or minigrids.

2.3 The World Bank Group’s assistance for off-grid electrification has averaged
about US$87 million per year during a 17-year period covering fiscal years
(FY)2000–16 (out of total US$1.594 billion), which is estimated to be about
2.5 percent of its overall lending for the electricity sector during the period. No
discernible trend is found in these commitments over the observed time period.
There was relatively low activity year after year, punctuated by large commitments
especially in FY2002 and FY2013, and what appears to be a promising trend in 2015
and 2016 (Figure 2.1). An analysis of the World Bank Group lending portfolio for
off-grid electrification during FY2000–16 is presented in appendix B.

Figure 2.1. World Bank Group Portfolio for Off-Grid Electrification: Projects Approved or Closed
FY2000–16
a. Number of projects b. c. Commitments (US$, million)

Source: World Bank project appraisal documents, midterm review reports, Implementation Status and Result Reports, aid
memoire, legal documents, Implementation Completion and Results Reports and other project documents, IFC project data
websites, GEF project data websites, and IFC 2007, 2012.

Large-Scale Rollout of SHS Systems and Services: Bangladesh

2.4 Bangladesh’s well-known experience with deploying SHSs in peri-urban and
rural areas built on an earlier World Bank–supported model in Sri Lanka using a
financial intermediary and private vendors.13 In its ongoing effort, Bangladesh has

13Sri Lanka: Energy Services Delivery, and Second Power Distribution and Transmission
Project (P010498) 1997-2003.

8
rolled out nearly 4 million SHSs since the early 2000s (Figure 2.2). These installations
provide basic electricity services to about 12 percent of the country’s population
(Pavel 2016).

2.5 Bangladesh’s rapidly scalable off-grid access expansion can be viewed as pre-
electrification for areas that otherwise could be covered cost-effectively by
centralized grids. The impetus for the Bangladesh SHS program originally came
from a stalled extensions and connections program on the main grid, exacerbated by
a severe shortfall in electricity generation in the country in the previous decade. A
vendor-based program managed by the implementing agency and financial
intermediary Industrial Development Company Limited (IDCOL) stepped into this
breach and set the stage for the SHS market to take off in the country. The World
Bank’s Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development I and II projects
have supported IDCOL in installing over 2.3 million systems from 2002 to March
2016. IDCOL has mentored over 49 partnership organizations—nongovernmental
organizations, microfinance institutions, and private sector institutions—and
engaged them in a competitive business model for SHS sales and servicing. A vital
factor contributing to the success of IDCOL’s SHS program is the availability of and
access to finance from lenders and donors. By the deployment of these funds
through a microcredit financing mechanism, supported by a combination of targeted
consumer credit and (declining) subsidies (Khandker et al. 2014) poor households
are enabled to access affordable energy services through SHS, because they do not
have to come up with upfront costs or pay separately for operation and maintenance
(Rai et al. 2015). Another vital factor contributing to the success of Bangladesh’s SHS
program is the attention to product quality standard through mechanisms set up by
IDCOL.

2.6 However, since the peak installation pace of over 75,000 per month in
Bangladesh during April and May, 2014, SHS sales have shown an overall declining
trend, with a sharply lower 28,000 installations in October 2015. This slowdown is
attributed to the rapid acceleration in grid connections (now more than 300,000 per
month) in the push to achieve the government target of 90 percent geographic
coverage by the grid by 2018. Given these developments, IDCOL is exploring
various options, including promoting SHS as a back-up facility since reliability of
grid supply continues to be uneven, and diversifying into product offerings such as
solar pumps for drinking water for the partner organizations (to ensure that they
remain in business to service the needs of existing SHS users in rural areas).

9
Figure 2.2. Bangladesh: Cumulative SHS Installations Financed by All Development Partners
a. Total SHS installations (thousands) b. National electricity access (%)
4,500 3,992.0 80% 74%76%
3,907.0 67%
4,000
3,455.3
70% 64%66% 62%
3,500 60% 53%54%55%
2,730.7 51%
3,000
50% 44%44%
2,500
1,877.7 40% 32% 34%36%
2,000
1,233.9 30%
1,500
764.9 20%
1,000
439.8
500 269.9
166.6 10%
11.7 32.3 59.9 97.1
0 0%

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Mar-16
Source: IDCOL SHS installation: Rahman 2016; Electricity Access Rate: BBS 2015; Bangladesh MPEMR 2014, 2015, and
2016; World Bank 2015e; IEA and World Bank 2015.
Note: The electrification rate decline of 62 percent in 2014 down from 67 percent in 2015 is due to the fact that the data for
2014–16 are from Bangladesh Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources (MPEMR), whereas the Bangladesh
Bureau of Statistics (BBS) provide time series of data from 2002–13. This underreporting by MPEMR could be because in
India and Bangladesh, the SHSs are not considered in the rural electrification figures because they cater only to lighting
needs (Palit and Chaurey 2011). BBS’s data is for electricity for lighting, which could include SHS and also based on the
sample survey. MPEMR’s access rate may be based on the number of electricity connections and not a sample survey.

Deploying SHS in Remote Areas

2.7 Argentina and Peru employed a concession model for off-grid electrification
in their remote, high-cost, isolated areas that are unlikely to be covered by the
conventional grid in the foreseeable future. In both instances, the respective utilities
servicing the area were responsible for the services, though procurement and
installation could be undertaken by contractors. Mongolia established a reliable
supply chain for SHS across the country, particularly benefiting over 85 percent of
its herder population.

2.8 Argentina: The World Bank’s Argentina Renewable Energy in Rural Markets
Project (FY1999–2013) supported an early fee-for-service concession model to supply
electricity to remote areas. The model delivered expected results, given Argentina’s
long experience with concessions in traditional electricity markets. The project
developed eight concessionaires that installed off-grid facilities in nearly 30,000
households (about 0.3 percent of the population in a universal access country)—
mainly with SHS but also with wind turbines and minigrids, in addition to installing
more than 2,000 SHSs in schools, medical centers, and other public buildings (World
Bank 2013e). The relatively large unit size of the institutional installation and
mandated installation (as opposed to individual households that may not opt to sign
up) greatly increased the attractiveness of the package to private sector bidders.

10
2.9 Peru: Similarly, under Peru’s Rural Electrification Project (FY2006–13),
electricity distribution companies installed and managed as a utility service, in excess
of 100,000 SHSs in remote and isolated areas, representing about 1.6 percent of the
national population, mostly living in remote areas. The World Bank’s role was
important in supplementing the financing plan, particularly in supporting capital
investments and helping ensure transparency in awarding concessions.

2.10 Mongolia: The Mongolia Renewable Energy for Rural Areas Project
relaunched the commercial solar home systems market by establishing a reliable
supply chain and a country-wide system of sales and service centers for
maintenance and repair; it also enabled underpinning of manufacturer warranties
and partial subsidization of the sale of solar home systems. The project transformed
the market for solar lighting from a subsidized to a fully commercial basis,
accelerated its expansion from a baseline of 15 percent of the herder population in
2006 to 85 percent in 2014, and catalyzed its expansion beyond lighting products to
supply all kinds of appliances, such as television sets and satellite receivers. By mid-
2014, the market for solar home systems and appliances had become established
over the entire country. (World Bank 2016).

Rapid Market Penetration of Solar Products for access tiers 1 and 2: The Lighting
Africa and Lighting Global Programs
2.11 In recent years, a vastly expanded array of market-proven off-grid solar
products and service options have become available, and products are no longer
confined to a piloting mode. These quality-certified products include cash-and-carry
plug-and-play solar kits, which provide sufficient power for the most basic services
of essential lighting and cell phone charging, as well as SHSs rated up to 100 watt
peak (and beyond) and related service delivery

2.12 From a near-standing start less than 10 years ago, more than 100 companies
are now actively focusing on stand-alone solar lanterns and SHS kits targeted at
those without modern energy access. They have sold over 14 million quality-
certified pico-solar products (defined as having a photovoltaic panel smaller than 10
watts), mainly in the form of portable lights, as of mid-2015 (Figure 2.3). These
products improve energy access for millions of people in Africa and Asia and have
lifted 21 million individuals to the first rung of the energy ladder, according to our
estimates. These market developments signal a changing strategic paradigm for
scaling up access efficiently and in a timely manner to enable access to basic
electricity services. Deep and rapid-paced market penetration appears achievable for

11
off-grid access provision to tier 1 and tier 2 markets on a commercially viable
sustainable basis (beyond possible need for start-up subsidies).

Figure 2.3. Pico-Photovoltaic Solar Products: Cumulative Quality Verified Product Sales

16
14
12
10
Millions

8
6
4
2
0
2010H2 2011H1 2011H2 2012H1 2012H2 2013H1 2013H2 2014H1 2014H2 2015H1

H1: Jan-June; H2: July-Dec

Africa Rest of World

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Lighting Global, Global Off-Grid Lighting Association
Note: H = year half.

2.13 This rapid growth has been stimulated and supported by the World Bank and
IFC’s Lighting Africa and its successor, the Lighting Global program, which have
pioneered well-designed and targeted technical assistance for improving quality
assurance and service delivery. (Box 2.1).

12
Box 1.1 Lighting Africa; Lighting Global: Transformational Off-Grid Program for T1 and T2 access
for the Poor
The World Bank and IFC piloted and scaled up Lighting Africa, an innovative program to
address the lighting needs of a large segment of the population not served by the power
grid. The program has been expanded successfully from its pilot phase within Kenya and
replicated in other countries in Africa and Asia. Earlier efforts to provide solar lamps to
poor families funded by donor grants and distributed free have had limited uptake.
The program design incorporated the entire supply chain and was informed by experience.
The World Bank and IFC initiated Lighting Africa in 2007 to accelerate the development of
a sustainable commercial market for quality, clean, and safe solar lighting products that are
affordable to very-low-income households and small businesses. The collaborative effort
was based on each institution’s core competencies and has benefitted from frequent, regular
communication between the two teams.
Lighting Africa enabled transformation at two levels. From a market development
perspective, the project transformed the solar lamp market in Kenya by making modern,
good quality, and affordable lighting products available to the very poor. It also
demonstrated the commercial viability and sustainability of the approach to address the
lighting needs of the base of the pyramid, in contrast to donor subsidized lending for the
purchase of solar lamps. To achieve this, Lighting Africa considered constraints along the
entire supply chain (such as high taxes on solar imports, lack of export financing, access to
supplier credit, market analysis)—considering the entire system. At project start in 2009,
only 2 percent of Kenya’s population was using solar lamps for their lighting needs; this
number had grown to nearly 10 percent in 2014 (although growth cannot be attributed
solely to the project). About 850,000 solar lamps have been sold under the project from 2009
to 2014 (compared with an anticipated 300,000 units), benefitting an estimated 4.25 million
people, mostly in poor areas of Nairobi and in rural areas. Household members using these
lamps no longer inhale toxic fumes from kerosene lamps and paraffin. School children are
able to study and do their homework at night. Households and small businesses had
savings by drastically limiting their kerosene purchase.
Source: World Bank 2016

2.14 The success of Lighting Africa has inspired programs in India, Bangladesh,
Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Lighting Global is the
World Bank Group’s global platform supporting sustainable and rapid scale up of
commercial market based off-grid access for the Tier 1&2 segments – encompassing
(Figures 1.1 and 1.2 ) pico-solar lighting and charging devices and solar home
systems (SHS) - to people not connected to grid electricity. Through Lighting
Global, IFC and the World Bank work with the Global Off-Grid Lighting
Association, manufacturers, distributors, and other development partners to
develop the off-grid lighting market. The Lighting Global program’s role is to
provide market insights, steer development of quality assurance frameworks for
modern, off-grid lighting devices and systems, facilitate product and systems

13
quality certification, and promote sustainability, in close partnership with industry
and appropriately enabled and supported by Government policy. Lighting Global
supports Lighting Africa, Lighting Asia and Lighting Pacific, which work along the
supply chain of off-grid lighting products and systems to reduce market entry
barriers and first mover risks.

2.15 The well-established and sustained market record in a growing number of

countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and in South and East Asia illuminates the
foundations and principles for workably credible and scalable mechanism for
bringing about a fast and initial transformational impact on those who otherwise
make do with an inferior and higher unit cost means such as kerosene, candles, and
wood, to meet their most basic lighting needs.

2.16 Evidence of a rapidly maturing industry can be witnessed firsthand and is

shaped by the cycle dynamics of entrepreneurial energy, technological advances
enabled by high-efficiency direct current appliances, and business model
innovations. Between cost reductions, latent consumer demand, and a sales-driven
push for higher-margin products, SHSs that are capable of powering appliances
such as televisions and fans are projected to capture an increasing market share.14
The cost of providing energy for basic lighting, radio, and a 19" television has gone
down from US$991 in 2009 to US$354 with the use of super-efficient appliances and
is slated to drop further to US$193 by 2020 (figure 2.4). With the sales-driven push
for higher-margin products, SHSs capable of powering appliances such as
televisions and fans are projected to capture an increasing market share.15

14 Based on data from Bloomberg Finance, LTG Global, and the World Bank Group.
15 Based on data from Bloomberg Finance, LTG Global, and the World Bank Group.

14
Figure 2.4. Solar Home System with 19" TV, Radio, and Lights
($US/unit)

Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solid-State Lighting
Program, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and Dalberg Global LEAP Off-Grid Appliance Market Research.

2.17 The share of certified and branded solar products has been growing steadily
over the years, as seen in figure 2.5. The products have been branded and certified
by either Lighting Global or companies associated with it or by other companies
producing their own branded products. Solar lights and SHSs have seen substantial
cost reductions and performance improvements during 2010–15; for example, a low-
cost light-emitting diode lantern was US$20 in 2010 and US$4 in 2015 (Bloomberg
Energy Finance et al 2016). This low-cost pico-solar photovoltaic could provide the
poor with their first pre-electrification experience and be available at local retail
shops and kiosks where they would otherwise buy kerosene, dry-cell batteries, and
candles, years before the utilities or electricity service companies offer SHSs or
connection to the minigrid or main grid.

2.18 While firm estimates are not readily available, the market sales revenue of
quality-certified pico-solar products (excluding SHS) are several orders of
magnitude higher than the relatively modest dollar amounts funding the
significantly well designed and targeted technical assistance facilitated from the
WBG’s Lighting Africa and Lighting Global Programs. For further perspective, the
cumulative (2011-2015) market share of branded and Lighting Africa/Global
quality-verified products sold by the first-half of 2015 was about a third of the total
cumulative sales of all such products 44.2 million, and by comparison typically
vastly inferior in performance, quality and life (Figure 6). The efforts of Lighting
Africa/Global programs of the WBG have steadily made ever deeper inroads into
this growing global market for pico-solar lighting and charging products.

15
Figure 2.5. Estimated Cumulative Sales of Pico-Solar Lighting Products in Sub-Saharan Africa
and Asia, 2011–2015

44.2 Generics (BNEF

estimate)
34.5
Other branded
26.4 products - other
companies
19.1
Other branded -
13.2 Lighting Global
associated
7.9 companies
5.0 Lighting Global
3.2
1.9 quality-verified
products
H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance et al 2016.
Note: Figures as reported to Lighting Global and Global Off-Grid Lighting Association with additional BNEF estimates for
missing data points and other branded sales. Data are millions of units. BNEF = Bloomberg New Energy Finance; H = year
half.

Micro- and Minigrids

2.19 Microgrids and minigrids are a big step up on the energy access ladder from
pico-solar products and SHSs. Depending on the their capacity, microgrids and
minigrids can provide the means for use of appliances such as refrigerators, rice
cookers, and microwaves, and productive applications such as water pumping,
milling, grinding, and other forms of processing (see figures 1.1 and 1.2) . As
explained in section 1, microgrids and minigrids span a range of capacity and
technologies. Broadly for the purposes of the is study, microgrids are characterized
as ranging in capacity from 30 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts and can use a variety of
technologies, from simple diesel generators to hydropower, biomass, photovoltaic,
wind, or hybrid systems. Larger minigrids, typically from 500 kilowatts to 1
megawatt and above can provide sufficient power for a bundle of activities
consisting of water pumping, milling, grinding, and other forms of electricity
intensive process requirements.

2.20 The deployment of microgrids and minigrids comes in a variety of business

and financing models, each with their own risk profiles and financing structures.
While there are prominent examples of microgrid and minigrid project components
supported by the World Bank Group and in the private sector, scaling up of the

16
micro- and minigrids is at an early stage.16. One overriding benefit of minigrids is
that the cost to their customers is almost always lower than the monthly
expenditures made by these same customers before the minigrid arrives. However,
cost structures on a kWh basis are high, which in turn, requires high levels of
government and donor subsidies. To date, there has been no systematic study of
how the subsidies required by commercially viable minigrids compare with
subsidies for connecting new rural customers through traditional main grid
expansion.

2.21 Overall, the experience of the World Bank Group in the limited number of
projects with minigrid components indicates that to date, minigrid programs are not
yet scalable or replicable from country to country. Investors have been deterred as
in the case of Bangladesh (World Bank 2014a) and other countries which were
nonstarters in respect of micro- and minigrids because of the lack of a clear policy
and regulatory framework, especially for remunerative tariffs17. At the same time,
there are signs that some of the regulatory and policy impediments are now being
addressed. For example, in Africa explicit regulatory and policy framework for
mini- and microgrids have been adopted (Tanzania and Rwanda) or proposed
(Nigeria and Kenya). In all four countries, there are provisions for compensation
payments to minigrid owners when the main grid arrives.

2.22 The absence of or lack of clear communication about plans for grid expansion
in the medium term makes it difficult for investors to plan ahead. Experience shows
that off-grid electrification needs to be planned in coordination with the growth of
the grid, with some assurance of compensation for stranded assets in case of faster
grid expansion than anticipated. In addition, financing is a constraint: most
minigrids are not yet straightforward deals for commercial investors or lenders (IFC
2012). However, IFC’s review of business models for scaling up access concludes
that this subsector holds real potential and merits greater attention of operating
companies, policymakers and investors (IFC 2012). The World Bank / ESMAP in
response to these issues initiated a Global Facility on Mini-Grids to provide ground
level, “just in time” information for stakeholders and operational support to World

16Historically, China had tens of thousands of isolated minigrids before they were
connected to the main grid or phased out. Similar minigrids, numbering 12,000 to 16,000
operate in Myanmar, providing electricity at relatively high prices of about 40 to 75 US cents
per kWh.
17According to feedback provided by the World Bank’s Energy and Extractives Global
Practice, as of September 2016, a senior IDCOL official reported that 7 minigrids are in
operation and that IDCOL expects to finance a total of 50 minigrids by the end of 2018. This
seems to be attributable to a much clearer regulatory and subsidy policy framework.

17
Bank task teams. Since the Global Facility became operational only late 2015, it is still
too early to know how it will perform.

2.23 Sri Lanka has used its micro- and small hydro potential to augment the
supply situation in rural and isolated areas (Chowdhury et al. 2015) and has
integrated it in a planned way with the grid as it gradually spread across most of the
country. Between 1997 and 2011, 268 village hydro projects were created in Sri
Lanka, an effort that was supported by the World Bank’s Energy Service Delivery
Project18 and Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development Project.19 These
are very small, microhydro installations with typical average installed generating
capacities of 3–50 kilowatts, usually serving from 20 to 80 households. The facilities
are owned and operated by community organizations known as Village Electricity
Consumer Societies. The owner and operator of a Village Electricity Consumer
Society is a community organization rather than a private business person. Rather
than simply relying on villages to create village hydro projects on their own
initiative, the government sought developers to promote the village hydro projects
and advise the community organizations. About 20 private engineering consultants
and nongovernmental organizations received payments of about US$8,000 for each
successful village hydro project that they promoted (Tenenbaum et al. 2014). Many
community-owned schemes have been taken over by entrepreneurial members,
resulting in efficiency improvements (World Bank 2014c).

2.24 Over the past several years, the grid system of the national utility, Ceylon
Electricity Board has reached about 70 of these previously isolated villages. In most
instances, the households closest to these new grid facilities left the Village
Electricity Consumer Society and chose to become Ceylon Electricity Board
customers. Connecting to the Ceylon Electricity Board is more attractive because of
better quality and reliability of electricity supply and comes with a subsidized
national lifeline tariff (2.5–3.0 cents/kilowatt versus the typical 25 cents/kilowatt
that they were paying as members of the Village Electricity Consumer Society;
Tenenbaum et al. 2014). Several village systems have been connected to the Ceylon
Electricity Board grid under a net-metering scheme.20 Smaller systems connected to
the grid can sell power to the utility at an agreed tariff that is higher than under net-
metering. This is a win-win situation for the village-communities that have invested

18 Sri Lanka Energy Service Delivery Project (ESD) (FY1997-FY2003; P010498).

19 Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development Project (RERED) (FY2002-2013;
P076702.
20 The Sri Lanka Energy Service Delivery Project created an enabling environment for

private sector participation in grid-connected renewable energy projects by facilitating

development of a Small Power Purchase Agreement (SPPA) (World Bank 2003).

18
money and sweat equity into their off-grid systems because they can now benefit
from the reliability of the national grid while continuing to earn revenues from the
sale of electricity generated by their village hydro schemes back to the utility at an
agreed tariff. Hence the microgrids developed by the Village Electricity Consumer
Societies provided a useful transitional supply of electricity to isolated villages
before the arrival of the Ceylon Electricity Board grid.

2.25 The World Bank Group supported minigrids on a significant scale in a few
countries (Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mali, and Cambodia). Other relatively smaller efforts
were made in Bangladesh, Mongolia, and Vietnam. Efforts are underway or were
recently completed in Tanzania for a larger-scale off-grid program, leveraging
private sector resources and promoting small-scale power projects.21

2.26 A full list of World Bank and IFC projects and investments that that were
approved or closed during FY2000–16 is presented in appendix C. A more detailed
discussion of the World Bank Group’s efforts in off-grid electrification is presented
in appendix D.22

Productive Uses and Welfare Outcomes

2.27 The use of off-grid electrification is mostly dedicated to lighting, comfort,
entertainment, and communication (IEG 2015). In principle, combining off-grid
projects with interventions to promote local productive uses of electricity is expected
to catalyze economic activity and improve incomes, especially from microgrids and
minigrids, but there is little systematic evidence of this in the literature. Impact
studies of World Bank projects and others are inconclusive in terms of degree and
direction (positive or negative) of the welfare effects, although they identify a
variety of benefits, such as income, health, education, gender equality and equity,
communication, and environment (Pueyo et al. 2013; Pueyo and Hanna 2015; Rao,
Agarwal, and Wood 2016; Wilcox et al. 2015).

2.28 A systematic review of the welfare impacts of electricity access carried out as
part of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) 2015 study on electricity access
covered 32 impact evaluations, including 8 for off-grid provision of electricity
comprising six cases of SHSs and two with minihydro schemes (including five

Tanzania Energy Development and Access Expansion Project (TEDAP) (P101645, P092154,
21

FY2008-)
22Bolivia, Cambodia, China, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mali, Nepal, and
Tanzania.

19
associated with World Bank projects in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Vietnam). The
results broadly showed that access to electricity, including from off-grid
electrification sources, has a positive influence on school enrollment, years of
schooling, and children’s study time at home. Two studies show significant effect of
electricity access on fertility reduction, whereas one other study found no effect.
Very few studies measured the impact of electricity access on health. The evidence
base for the impact of electricity access on microenterprise profits is also thin.
Regarding household income, electricity access is found to have a positive effect on
total income as well as nonfarm income. No overall impact on the number of hours
worked was observed. The systematic review stressed that a bigger evidence base is
needed to better understand the extent and magnitude of these links.

2.29 This study notes that 28 projects out of the 83 World Bank Group projects
with off-grid electrification objectives or components planned to address productive
uses or income-generating activities. Of these 28 projects, 20 actually implemented
some of these planned activities, but there is no systematic evidence from these
efforts. Out of the 82 project, 34 addressed cross-sectoral linkages by providing
electricity access to schools, clinics, agricultural processing, mobile charging, and
other livelihood activities, as well as to contribute to addressing climate change
issues (see appendix C for further information).

3. Off-Grid Electrification Planning and

Implementation: “The Next Generation”
3.1 Historically, off-grid electrification has been used for covering remote areas
that were effectively out of reach of the grid, or for pre-electrification in areas where
the grid was not likely to reach in the short or medium term. In instances and at
points in time when and where grid rollout advance stalled or slowed, off-grid
delivery has been scaled up opportunistically by market agents. However, over the
years, with steady improvements in renewable technology performance and costs,
off-grid electrification has shown the potential to be competitive for broader use in
other areas well. The preceding sections 1 and 2 provide evidence of the potential for
off-grid electrification to be implemented as a mainstream component of broader
national efforts to increase electricity access.

3.2 In country situations where the grid rollout was or is advancing per
scheduled plan but large segments of potential beneficiaries of grid access face
extended wait times, there are instances of governments deploying a strategy (which
may be termed ex ante planned pre-electrification) for efficiently and effectively

20
coordinating the advance of the grid geospatially and in time with off-grid
electrification. This is backed by policy to effectively address the issues of retiring
off-grid assets when grid service becomes a reality in those locations. This section
highlights several country examples that embody the “next generation” of off-grid
electrification strategic planning and implementation staging.

3.3 It is also noteworthy that good practice national electrification programs for
achieving universal electricity access—even those well under way before launch of
the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in 2013—reflect this strategy in their
respective national geospatial least-cost access rollout program plans, capturing the
synergies and dynamic complementarity between grid and off-grid rollout in space
(geospatially) and time. They have strategically and systematically deployed off-grid
access delivery, as circumstances warranted, across locations and time, both in a pre-
electrification mode as well as otherwise.

3.4 A key takeaway from these experiences is that the starting point and sound
basis for any off-grid access scale-up program staging and design is first preparing a
comprehensive and analytically sound geospatial least-cost national electrification
program plan, irrespective of staging of the grid rollout implementation, which
depends on readiness along certain key dimensions.

Off-Grid Electrification and Implementation: “The Next Generation” of

transformational programs
3.5 Space and time coordinated grid and off-grid rollout implementation (guided
by a comprehensive least cost geospatial plan and roadmap for implementing
universal access nationwide) enabled by sector viability – institutional and financial
framework – are hallmarks of the next generation of national electrification
programs to achieve universal access efficiently and fast. The following highlights
of the ongoing experiences of Rwanda, Kenya, and Myanmar typify these features.

3.6 Rwanda and Kenya, both low-income countries, launched comprehensive,

nationwide programs starting around 2008/2009, to achieve universal access by
2030. Both national electrification programs are grounded in a rollout strategy with a
roadmap for achieving universal access. Implementation has progressed
systematically and efficiently, and in a staged, and coordinated grid and off-grid
rollout. Both countries are well ahead of the original plan targets in terms of
monitored results on the ground.

3.7 Although both programs are naturally “home-grown” in their respective

design features and supporting institutional framework, each program reflects the

21
core organizing principles and strategic drivers across the large and diverse
spectrum of best practice country contexts and experiences highlighted in IEG’s 2015
electricity access report; for example, Thailand, Tunisia, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Vietnam, and Morocco. In their own manner, the Rwanda and Kenya
programs share with this diverse set of countries, the four key dimensions and
characteristics that typify transformational programs for achieving universal access:
developmental relevance, depth of change from the program as result, scale of
change (large scale impact and widespread), and sustainability.23

3.8 The Kenya and Rwanda programs present a major break from their past
modus operandi, which were typified by fragmentation, piecemeal electrification
activities and initiatives, and scattered projects now and then. Rather than being
aligned and contributing to national priority–set targets, many of these activities
reflected donor priorities and interests; for example, rural electrification, slum
electrification, intensification of connections in selected areas, and off-grid, small-
scale new renewable energy for poverty alleviation. Coordination among these
numerous well-intentioned if not always suitably designed initiatives was weak,
and they do not add up for significant impact. The current approach of the two
countries, with a comprehensive and programmatic institutional and investment
financing framework shares the essential features of the good practice country
programs worldwide in earlier years even before the Sustainable Energy for All
initiative was launched.

3.9 Rwanda and Kenya, both low-income countries have mainstreamed

planning, programmatic financing and implementation of comprehensive and
coordinated grid and off-grid rollout programs to systematically scale up towards
universal access, with aggressive intermediate targets. A key driver of the positive
and encouraging experience and results from these programs was the government’s
ownership, early commitment, and persistent follow-through on the enabling
actions established in Investment Financing Prospectuses. Each program is anchored
by a least-cost geospatial national electrification rollout plan for grid and
coordinated off-grid development for universal access by 2030; exemplifying best
practice.

3.10 The World Bank’s engagements began in 2007 for Kenya and 2008 for
Rwanda. The first major step for each was preparation of a national geospatial
access rollout plan that combined geographic, demographic, and technical
parameters to scale up access in a least-cost and time-bound manner. Geographic
information system (GIS)-based platforms have proved to be powerful planning

23 World Bank. 2016.

22
tools for grid/off-grid national rollouts to meet time-bound targets. Experience
confirms their easy understandability and appeal to effectively rally and shape
broad consensus across the entire range of key sector institutions and stakeholders
that such national programs need to mobilize for efficient, fast implementation. The
geospatial plans have also been effectively used by the governments to syndicate
large-scale financing on a programmatic basis and organize the diverse spectrum of
stakeholders working together toward achieving universal access.

3.11 Spatial planning helps identify the “footprint” of the areas in which MV grid
extensions that will enable downstream LV reticulation and achieving connection
targets indicated in each planned state of the grid year by year as the country moves
to universal access by 2030. All social institutions falling within the shaded
planning cells are earmarked for grid connection. The remaining social institutions
targeted for electricity supply are shown by distinct symbols in the box figure (Box
3.1) and will be equipped with solar PV units. These results can be achieved by
progressively extending the medium voltage network and by concentrating initially
on increasing the number of connections within the areas already reached by the
MV network. Given the high population density in the country, the plan shows that
most areas can expect to be connected to the national grid. However, in some areas,
local mini-grids based on micro-hydro and solar PV systems will continue to be
efficient for some time.

3.12 The geospatial planning platform captures a national development

perspective across all sectors (health, education, administrative centers) and all
households (urban, peri-urban, rural, and deep rural) and is not restricted to a “rural
electrification project here and there” planning framework. The GIS data layers
support the high level spatial network planning platform algorithm and
postprocessor results processing of the least cost grid and off-grid plan; and can be
updated readily.

3.13 The Bank’s engagements began in 2008 for Kenya and 2009 for Rwanda. The
first major step for each was preparation of a national geospatial access rollout plan
that combined geographic, demographic, and technical parameters to scale up
access in a least-cost and time-bound manner. The plan addressed equity and shared
prosperity considerations through policies for keeping connections charges
affordable for the poor. A substantial off-grid program gave priority to connecting
public facilities (schools, clinics, primary health centers, and administrative centers)
so that developmental effects could be spread out even ahead of the progress on
household connections (box 3.1). The plans were funded by the Energy Sector
Management Assistance Program as knowledge products that would be translated
into operations.

23
Box 3.1. Rwanda Geospatial National Electrification Rollout Plan and Investment Financing
Rwanda is among the first countries to prepare and implement a nationwide
electrification program combining grid and off-grid means based on a systematic
and least-cost plan aided by geographic information system mapping techniques
that combine technical, economic, demographic, and demand and supply data.
The rollout plan can be updated with new information and offers several
advantages over traditional electrification master plans.

Figure B3.1.1. Geographic Information System Mapping for Electrification Rollout in Rwanda

Source: World Bank maps unit.

 Geospatial planning is easier to visualize for all stakeholders and can rally
financial participation. As experienced in Rwanda and Kenya, (and recently
Myanmar), the geospatial plan effectively anchors a “prospectus” for large
and diverse groups of national and international stakeholders to coordinate
and commit to an adequate and sustainable financing package.
 The geospatial plan captures a comprehensive national development
perspective across all sectors (health, education, administrative centers) and
all households (urban, peri-urban, rural, and deep rural) and is not
restricted to a ‘rural electrification project here and there’ planning
framework. Geospatial planning helps identify the areas where off-grid
access delivery options can potentially make the highest impact in the
overall national plan for achieving universal access.
Note: Modest cost and ability to make frequent updates make geographic information systems a dynamic planning
platform capable of undertaking rapid updates reflecting changes in key parameters. The comprehensive geospatial
plans (coupled with a prospectus) for Rwanda and Kenya each cost about US$1 million and took one year to prepare.
They better capture the ever-changing situation (growing grid extensions, changing demand and affordability, equipment
costs) to inform the implementation process. By contrast, classic electrification master plan studies take two to three
years, cost more than $2 million to prepare, and are based on a static framework that is not readily updated.

Source: World Bank 2011

24
3.14 As part of the process, each country prepared a prospectus detailing the
national electrification rollout plan. The prospectus stated the governments’
commitments to sector policies and regulations for ensuring the financial viability of
the sector and service providers. It also specified the financing requirements for each
element of the program—generation, transmission and distribution, off-grid
facilities, and others—in a phased manner for the next 15 years. These prospectuses
were presented to donor groups in 2009 for Rwanda and 2010 for Kenya.

3.15 After the prospectus was prepared, the government of each country led a
donor financing roundtable inviting all stakeholders and interested donors for
syndication of the investment and technical assistance financing requirements of the
comprehensive first five-year implementation program (2009–2014). The tables 3.1
and 3.2 below summarize the donor pledges, which are broadly allocated as follows:

 Off-grid program co-financing. These are financed 100 percent by the

government and donors: capital cost (US$80 million) plus technical assistance
(~US$10 million).

 Grid program co-financing. Financing is 10 percent each from utility and

new customer connection charges, and the remaining 80 percent is split
evenly between government and development partner contributions.

Table 3.1. Donor Financing Roundtable, Kigali, Rwanda, April 2009

Source: World Bank project documents.

Note: m = million, TA = technical assistance.

25
Table 3.2. Rwanda: Partner Pledges: Prospectus Donor Financing Round Table (2009–2014)

Development Partner Financing amount

(US$, million)
Programmed donor contribution
World Bank and Global Environment Facility 78.3
Dutch government 45
Japan International Cooperation Agency 25
African Development Bank 50
Committed donor funding (off-grid)
European Commission 35
New partners
Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa 10
OPEC Fund for International Development 10
Saudi fund 10
Government contribution ($10m/yr.) 50
ELGZ 27
Customers 27
Total financing 357.3
Source: World Bank project documents.

3.16 Rwanda implementation track record (2009–2015). Within a short time from
program rollout initiation in 2009, Rwanda’s national utility has displayed
impressive growth for both grid and off-grid access in a coordinated manner guided
at the strategic level by its comprehensive national geospatial least-cost rollout plan:

3.17 Grid connections. Grid connections showed impressive growth that has so
far exceeded original targets.

 Year-end 2015 grid access was reported at 22 percent (563,000 national utility
grid-connected customers, compared with about 6 percent access at program
start in 2008 and 2009 (~110,000 customers).24

 In 2015, the marginal new connection rate on the grid established a new peak
and exceeded 150,000 connections per year, compared with the program start

24Rwanda’s population in 2015 is reported to be about 12 million. Intermediate access

statistics in selected intervening years are as follows: 2012, access 14 percent (332,000
customer accounts) and a marginal connection rate of about 80,000 per year; 2014, access
22 percent (458,000 customer accounts) and a marginal connection rate of about 150,000 per
year.

26
 rate of about 30,000 per year (and a preprogram rate of less than 5,000 per
year).25

 Assuming that the on-grid connection rates are maintained at 150,000 per year,
with other conditions remaining the same, the projected national access rate
would be as follows: year 2020 (>60 percent); year 2025 (>80 percent); and
universal access by or before 2030 (assuming a population of about 15 million
by then).

3.18 Off-grid connections. Under the national rollout plan, all schools,
administrative centers, health centers and hospitals across the country were
expected to be covered either by grid or off-grid means by 2016. This appears to
have been achieved early, with off-grid access accounting for a significant share,
which may decrease in the coming years as the grid catches up in these areas (table
3.3)

Table 3.3. Rwanda’s Off-Grid Access Share in Providing Comprehensive Coverage of Public
Facilities
Access provided to public facilities (%)
Institutions
Baseline, Sept Sept Sept Target Actual
April 2009 2012 2013 2014 2016 Dec 2015 Off-grid share
Schools 21 35 37 37 80 100 54
Administrative
39 56 59 59 100 100 10
centers
Health centers,
38 53 57 57 100 100 16
hospitals
Source: World Bank project documents.
Note: Sept = September.

Micro- or minigrids: With respect to off-grid access, led mainly by the private
sector, (coupled with capital subsidy in some instances), the recent developments
are as follows:

 Pico-solar lighting and cell phone charging products. Over 11,000

products (one per household) were sold, (equivalent to about 17,000 watt
peak) in only four months.

25Over this time, the national utility has substantially reduced unit connection costs to
US$742 per connection in 2015, which is lower than the performance indicator target of
approximately US$1,000 per connection agreed to at the start of the program with the
government and donor financiers (and a preprogram costs of about US$3,000 per
connection).

27
  Micro- or minihydro projects. There are two microhydro projects (in
aggregate, about 700 kilowatts) and one minihydro project (3.9
megawatts) that are all bankable and advancing well toward
implementation for power sale to the national utility grid.

 Active pipeline. Additionally, micro- and minihydro sites (in aggregate,

about 5 megawatts total) are under various stages of feasibility study and
advancing toward financial closure with technical assistance financed by a
Bank project.

3.19 Kenya’s experience parallels that of Rwanda, with and Energy Sector
Management Assistance Program–funded technical assistance in 2008–09 supporting
a comprehensive geospatial least-cost rollout plan to anchor a strategic roadmap for
systematically staging a coordinated grid and off-grid program to achieve universal
access. This involved intermediate targets differentiated for households, education
and health sector facilities and priority administrative locations and centers. This
plan anchored the first investment financing prospectus to rally all stakeholders and
interested donors for funding the projected investment financing gap for both grid
and off-grid electrification for the first five years of implementation (2010–2014).

3.20 Grid connections: Within a very short time from program rollout initiation
(2009), Kenya’s national utility, KPLC, has blazed a noteworthy and impressive
record of overall progress in access scale-up implementation achieved in the field.
This was guided at the strategic level by the comprehensive national geospatial
least-cost rollout plan developed at the outset and since updated for the grid
program:

 The national access rate based on-grid connections is about 32 percent in

2015.26 Over the most recent five-year period (FY2009/10–FY2014/15), KPLC
connected just under 2 million new customers, more than doubling the base
of about 1.5 million customer accounts in FY2009/10. A further 1.5 million
Kenyans gained access to basic power from the off-grid private market for T1
and T2 access highlighted earlier. (World Bank 2016)

 Although the average annual implementation rate of new connections on-

grid over the past five years is about 370,000 per year, the marginal rate in
FY2014/15 was about 500,000 connections, and the rate is projected to rise
well above that figure in the future.

26 With an estimated national population of about 44 million in FY2013/14.

28
3.21 Off-grid access: Two broad demographic segments with very distinct
characteristics and challenges can be identified in the country. The remote areas of
the country have a population of about 7.3 million (out of the present national
population of about 45 million) spread cross 13 counties in the northern areas. Here,
access stands at 7 percent, or about 540,000 households. Aggressive and sustained
efforts are under way to georeference map the population clusters across the entire
northern region, as well their settlement patterns within, and systematically and
comprehensively identify the effective options for scaling up access to the tier 1 and
tier 2 segments as well as micro- and minigrid networks where appropriate.

3.22 In the rest of country, where the overwhelming majority of Kenya’s

population is concentrated, over 2 million quality-certified pico-solar products, and
increasingly SHSs, have been sold since 2008, which represents over 25 percent of all
quality-verified product sales in Sub-Saharan Africa (figure 3.1). In this segment,
private sector players in Kenya have been successful in developing a robust,
commercially self-standing market for solar products and services—the strongest in
Africa. They have developed innovative business models and efficient supply
channels for cash sales of portable lanterns and locally assembled SHSs.
Furthermore, they have also pioneered the rollout of innovative technological
approaches such as pay-as-you-go, which enables customers to pay for their solar
products in affordable monthly increments, often paying via mobile money. Local
financial institutions are actively supporting the sector by providing loans to actors
across the value chain.

Figure 3.1. Pico-Solar Products: Cumulative Sales in Kenya

Source: BNEF et al 2016.

29
3.23 Myanmar recently (September 2015), launched its National Electrification
Plan to achieve universal electricity access by 2030, supported by an International
Development Association credit of US$400 million for implementation over the
initial five years (FY2016–22). In the long run, systematic extension of the national
grid system is expected to reach over 95 percent of the population as a least-cost
solution. The off-grid component has an allocation of US$80 million investment for
remote area communities of the country; identified under National Electrification
Plan as those townships, villages, and households located farther than 11 miles from
the national grid and unlikely to be reached by the grid for at least the next 10 years.
These are targeted for pre-electrification by identifying the appropriate system(s)
options: SHSs and minigrid systems. Additionally, the off-grid component of the
National Electrification Plan targets public institutions (schools, rural health centers,
and religious buildings). Private sector agents—suppliers, contractors, delivery
chain management, and project developers—are expected to play a significant and
varying role in providing the products, services, materials, construction activities,
and operations.

3.24 The Ministry of Land, Fisheries, and Rural Development is vested with the
overall responsibility for orchestrating the off-grid component. This covers the
functions of detailed operational planning; technoeconomic financial assessment of
options, standards, and procurement; and overall program management and regular
coordination with counterparts responsible for grid rollout operationally. To this
end, the International Development Association credit provides for US$10 million
technical assistance to the ministry.

3.25 With respect to the off-grid market for pre-electrification, initial market
assessments undertaken by Lighting Global indicate that the potential commercial
off-grid market for solar photovoltaic products is approximately 8 million
households in the central zone, which is home to 75 percent of the national
population, with a commercial market economic potential of 4 to 5 million
households. In addition, remote areas also represent potential for solar products and
systems, but the market development costs and associated risks are judged to be
much higher.

A National Roadmap for Universal Access Effectively Navigated: Morocco

3.26 Morocco National Rural Electrification Program. By 1995, most of the urban
population of Morocco—representing about half of the national population of about
26 million at the time—had been electrified by the government-owned National
Office of Electricity via the national vertically integrated utility, ONE. In rural areas,

30
the picture was not so bright, with only 18 percent access and over 80 percent of
villages not electrified. In 1996, the government launched the Global Rural
Electrification Program. In 15 years, over 42,000 rural villages and 2.1 million
households (about 13 million people), representing about 99 percent of the rural area
population, were provided electricity access, which was comparable in parity to
overall national access.

3.27 Investment financing for this effort was shared across major stakeholder
groups, with their share and responsibilities evolving over the years. The
cumulative investment of the Global Rural Electrification Program from 1996 to 2009
is estimated at over €1.8 billion. Of this total investment amount, approximately
50 percent (US$ 1 billion) financing was syndicated across major international
financiers: Agence Française de Développement (24 percent), European Investment
Bank (18 percent), Islamic Development (15 percent), African Development Bank
(12 percent), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (11.5 percent), European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (6 percent), Arab Fund for Economic and
Social Development (5 percent), Kuwait Fund (4 percent), Oil for Development
(4 percent), and KfW Development Bank (0.5 percent). Significantly, there was no
World Bank Group engagement during this scale-up program. By 2009, consumers
had provided about 25 percent of total investment, municipalities and communities
provided about 20 percent (enabled by earmarked allocations sourced from value-
added tax receipts and municipal development fund allocations), and ONE
provided 55 percent. ONE’s share of total investment financing was split
approximately fifty-fifty with government borrowings, grants, and equity. These
funds were raised in four tranches over the 15 year period from 1996 to 2009 (Ettaik
2013; IsDB 2013; Nygaard and Dafrallah 2016).27

3.28 Morocco’s effort was from a home-grown plan, but it displayed international
best practice principles for many partners, one plan, and one implementer, and was
similar to earlier experiences in Tunisia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Lao PDR.

3.29 Factors driving Morocco’s access scale-up experience. A single

professionally competent implementation agent, the national utility ONE,
systematically orchestrated and effectively managed the process. Morocco’s access
scale-up was informed at the outset by an analytically sound, comprehensive plan
prepared by ONE that incorporated both grid and off-grid means in a least-cost

27Data are also from ONE annual reports 1990–2014; and IEG consultant field visit,
personal discussions in Rabat with ONE, February 2016.

31
spatially optimized plan that was technologically neutral and took into account grid
extensions, minigrids, and SHSs.

3.30 At one time, the minigrids were supplied by microhydro (63 villages), wind
hybrids (2 villages), and diesel (12 villages). However, over time, these scattered
systems were phased out as the grid extensions advanced geospatially.
Additionally, in several instances, sociopolitical and regional balance and equity
considerations—coupled with aspirations of the communities involved for grid
service—resulted in grid extensions not identified as part of the least-cost plan.

3.31 At one time 105,000 SHSs, ranging in sizes from 50 watt peak up to 200 watt
peak, were competitively procured and installed on a fee-for-service basis.
Subsequently, consumers began to view SHSs a second-best solution because they
were more expensive at that time and, in the final analysis, did not provide the same
service as a grid connection. Under pressure, ONE expanded the grid extension
program and scaled back the size of the SHS program.

4. Strategic Implications for Moving Forward

4.1 The current rate of new connections in low-access countries averages about
2 million per year, almost all through grid extensions. In stark contrast, an annual
average implementation rate of about 15 million per year (about 100 million
beneficiaries per year) is required to achieve the Sustainable Energy for All target of
universal access by 2030. If low-access countries are to have an even chance of
providing at least basic services (lighting, cell phone charging, fan, and television) to
large sections of their population within a generation, off-grid electrification will
need to be mainstreamed in a big way into the national access rollout effort.

4.2 The mainstreaming of off-grid electrification has taken different routes in the
several countries where it has occurred on a significant scale. In Bangladesh, the
scaled-up solar home system (SHS) program in grid-proximate areas took hold as an
opportunistic market response to the then-stalled grid extension program. In Sri
Lanka, off-grid electrification (initially in the form of isolated village hydro-minigrid
networks) took place as staged pre-electrification on an ex ante spatial geography–
based plan until planned grid extensions arrived at those locations. In Rwanda and
Kenya, off-grid electrification is proceeding in an ex ante planned manner. In
Morocco, the process occurred earlier in a spatially planned, staged manner,
achieving 98.5 percent overall access, including in rural areas. Most recently,
Myanmar has laid out a conscious strategy of ex ante planned pre-electrification
utilizing an off-grid program promoting solar products, SHSs, and isolated minigrid

32
networks as appropriate, which is integral to the country’s National Electrification
Program Roadmap and Investment prospectus.

4.3 Looking ahead, the recent program experiences that have mainstreamed the
scale up of off-grid access delivery, and related best practice developments
highlighted in earlier sections signal that some off-grid access scale up modalities
and market-based business models have come of age. No longer should a whole
generation of the population be forced to wait in the dark with limited or no choice,
forced to make do with grossly inferior and extremely high unit cost options to meet
their most basic energy service needs until the grid reaches them. The era of modern
electricity access services (pre-electrification) delivered by quality-certified solar-
powered products—from pico sizes to upward of 100watt peak—is within reach in
the short to medium term, to a very large portion of the 1 billion in the tier 1 and tier
2 market segments worldwide, and especially in low-access countries.

4.4 Fundamentally, this calls for seeing and thinking of off-grid electrification
roles differently—no longer as pilot or small components in access projects, nor as
the new answer to addressing the access scale-up challenge in entirety. From a
strategic, nationwide perspective, realizing the full potential of off-grid
electrification in each country-specific context calls for a comprehensive perspective
that can leverage the synergies of access expansion through both grid and off-grid
means in a coordinated manner in space and time.

4.5 The experience and good practices from countries—with World Bank support
or otherwise—yield several findings and lessons that are outlined here as
considerations to inform and tailor, for a given country context, potential modalities
for mainstreaming off-grid electrification within the overall national electrification
program. Such programs must take into account where, when, and in what
modalities off-grid electrification can play its most effective role within the context
of the institutional framework for achieving national goals of universal access in a
country context and the country’s “sector readiness” to do so.

Off-Grid Electrification: Framing the Key Strategic Questions Differently

PUT PEOPLE (BENEFICIARIES) FIRST, NOT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
4.6 The cumulative empirical evidence from worldwide best practice programs
indicates to the following:

 People want affordable, adequate, reliable access “yesterday.” From a

personal as well as a social and national perspective, the costs of delay in
providing even basic access are very high—tantamount to depriving another

33
 generation of the benefits of modernized services, including education and
health care services. Time is of the essence.
 Access to small quantities of modern electricity—sufficient to power basic
modern lighting, cell phone charging, and a small radio or television—can
trigger a giant step for those without access. The United Nations Sustainable
Energy for All Global Tracking Framework tier 1 and tier 2 market segments
typify this first, hugely transformative step of demand for basic access.
 Significantly, over time, peoples’ expectations tend to grow, and almost all
aspire to electricity access comparable in adequacy, quality, and reliability
that is typical of a well-managed utility-run grid system.
 In light of the above, A National Roadmap for achieving universal access
(“electricity for all”), irrespective of the area where they are located (for
example, urban, including any slums; peri-urban; rural; or deep rural) needs
to be based on spatially mapping where the people and settlements are
located and identifying the best means to reach them in a staged manner
based on techno-economic and equity considerations. This approach should
also avoid or counter any tendencies toward “cherry picking” geographical
service areas and/or beneficiaries, whether for grid or off-grid rollout, absent
an effective plan to provide access to the excluded.

GRID VERSUS OFF-GRID: A FALSELY FRAMED BINARY CHOICE

4.7 The “grid versus off-grid” trade-off is not so much about competing
answers for the same question as about competing ways to frame the right
question. An important theme emerging from the good practice country experiences
with achieving universal access effectively, efficiently, sustainably, and at a good
speed (see section 3) is that grid and off-grid technologies and access service
delivery are not necessarily either-or options to be determined based simply on a
narrow least-cost calculus. Rather, looking ahead, off-grid access rollout provision is
appropriately viewed as playing a complementary role to coordinated
implementation alongside grid rollout in the process of achieving universal access.

4.8 “Staging” in a particular country’s context may constitute more than simply
looking at time and, inevitably, may also entail considerations that go well beyond
the techno-economic calculus of alternatives. The institutional framework and
enabling policy framework put in place by the government, and what constitutes
“electricity access” under its policy vision, is also crucial to take into account.

4.9 The scope and scale of off-grid electrification should be planned and
designed as appropriate in the country context and be influenced by the need to act
strategically from the outset in tailoring a country-specific program strategy design
and operational engagements. To realize the full potential of off-grid electrification

34
in each country-specific context—taking into account scale, scope, geographic
coverage, and time—can benefit from an expanded perspective in the process of
designing country-specific roadmaps for access scale-up implementation.

4.10 This role of off-grid access rollout needs to be properly conceived and
designed into the overall sector strategy for achieving universal access, with due
consideration to least-cost and waiting time for access. There is a need to act
strategically from the outset in tailoring country-specific program strategy design
and operational engagements that are informed by a sound geospatial least-cost
nationwide rollout program plan—grid and off-grid—to achieve universal access by
the target year.

4.11 A key building block for anchoring the overall high-level roadmap plan for
reaching universal access is preparation of a nationwide geospatial coverage least-
cost plan for implementation that is periodically revised to reflect updated
circumstances and changes in key parameters of the underlying analytical platform.
It is not a central command and control tool or a “master plan.” Furthermore, it is an
essential frame of reference in terms of

 defining and monitoring target mandates and accountabilities of various

agents and multisector institutions engaged in access rollout (such as
departments of health and education, provincial and local government
authorities, and water resources and supply)

 providing an essential and effective basis for coordinating implementation in

space and time in the dynamically evolving grid-off-grid program; and

 signaling relevant and valuable information for private sector markets and
agents interested in or engaged with some aspect of the electricity access
business.

 Last but not least, as the country program examples in the preceding section
highlight, a sound and comprehensive nationwide least-cost geospatial plan
for implementation toward universal access (and the accompanying
“bankable” investment financing prospectus it anchors) in effect serves as a
fulcrum or central pivot point in an otherwise business-as-usual piecemeal
jigsaw puzzle with many missing pieces. The plan rallies diverse stakeholder
participation toward closer alignment to national time targets for access,
crowding in new donors and guiding syndication of investment financing
requirements on an ongoing and programmatically sustained basis.

35
4.12 The manner in which this combination plays out during implementation
varies by country and is dynamic in space and over time. This may come about in
response to progress, or lack thereof, in the respective grid rollout and off-grid
rollout implementation in the field. Potential factors include evolving customer
expectations and aspirations for service standards, the sociopolitical policy
responses to those, and other real-time triggers. The specific circumstances and
factors that trigger and shape the moving frontiers of grid and off-grid rollout
advances—from the ex ante geospatial least-cost national electrification rollout
plan—will vary but are broadly seen in the following country experiences:

Bangladesh: Grid rollout advance may slow down or in extreme cases stall at
some point for an extended period of time and then restart later. Bangladesh’s
pace-setting and best practice–establishing SHS rollout program typifies an
instance of “ex post opportunistic” pre-electrification facilitated by deploying
standardized, quality-certified SHS–based access delivery and related services to
beneficiaries.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka’s national spatial rollout plan for scaling up envisaged ex
ante at some point that village small hydro–based off-grid network access
schemes would be phased out when grid reach was operational at that location,
and this was achieved. This typifies an instance of “ex ante pre-electrification”
facilitated by deploying isolated minigrids.

Morocco: SHS and isolated generation minigrid networks were identified ex ante
under its nationwide comprehensive geospatial least-cost rollout plan for areas
where grid extensions were not justifiable on technoeconomic calculus.

4.13 Off-grid can play a significant role in most low-access countries in the near
term. In many countries, grid rollout has yet to get under way. In others, it has
stalled or it advanced in starts and stops and at an unpredictable pace on account of
the state of one or more sector readiness conditions, such as governance,
institutional framework, weak capacity, long-term vision, targets, commitment and
sustained follow-through, lack of accountability, on-and-off rather than
programmatic finance, or not maintaining the commercial viability for the qualified
private sector agents engaging in the rollout. And in country contexts where the
main sector is functioning generally well and grid rollout implementation can be
advanced efficiently (for example, Rwanda, Kenya, Morocco, and the recently
launched project in Myanmar), off-grid electrification can make a major contribution
as well via ex ante planned pre-electrification.

36
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR ENGAGEMENT: BOTH MUST PLAY THEIR DUE ROLES IN ENABLING AND
CATALYZING EFFICIENT AND RAPID SCALE-UP OF OFF-GRID ACCESS ROLLOUT FOR TIER 1 AND 2 MARKETS
4.14 In tracing the evolution of off-grid access delivery across the WBG portfolio
(sections 2 and 3) two noteworthy features are: (i) the evolving scope and roles of
the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) engagements in
response to opportunity for maximizing the synergies resulting from their respective
strengths and comparative advantages in enabling early stage (“pre-market")
development, and (ii) assisting the client countries in designing the participation of
the private and public sectors working in close partnership, bringing their respective
natural roles and comparative strengths towards scaled-up delivery for realizing the
national goal of universal access efficiently and rapidly

4.15 Notably in Bangladesh, the World Bank played a key role by supporting
IDCOL, an autonomous government undertaking, in mentoring and promoting
private sector operators, NGOs, and microfinance institutions, resulting in rapid
scale-up of SHS penetration, based on a competitive business model. It has
supported mechanisms for product quality assurance and starter market capital
subsidies; typically towards financing the soft program costs, and directed towards
lowering the high initial costs typical – such as extending service dealer chains,
building capacity – costs not fully recoverable in market prices for the solar home
systems, at early stage of development. Further, , Lighting Africa which over time
focused on the Tier 1 starter market development, evolved into the Lighting Global
umbrella program of the World Bank Group with broadened market focus.
Specifically, the Lighting Global Program has engaged in design and preparation of
a substantial scale off-grid electrification program for Tier 1 and 2 beneficiary
segments; within the context of a national Road Map for achieving universal access;
aided by the spatial information provided by the nationwide geospatial least cost
plans funded by the World Bank and grid extension plan over time. The instances of
Kenya, Rwanda and Myanmar typify country cases where the World Bank assisted
the Government with preparation of the national least cost geospatial electrification
implementation plan for universal access by 2030 (grid and alongside coordinated in
space-time the off grid program scale up), and syndication of the investment
financing requirements orchestrated by the governments’ within a sector wide
organizing architecture and oversight process.

MULTIPLE ADVANTAGES OF A HIGH-LEVEL NETWORK PLANNING PLATFORM THAT IS ANCHORED IN A

GEOSPATIAL AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN COVERING GRID AND OFF-GRID MEANS
4.16 Providing access (in some form) to all households, clinics, and trading
centers—wherever they may be—requires identifying where the beneficiaries are
geolocated. This enables least-cost placement and expansion of existing electricity

37
access infrastructure. Sound geospatial planning platforms that can be readily
updated to changes in key variables have been shown to provide a sound and
comprehensive analytical foundation for and dynamically coordinated strategic-
level rollout implementation of grid and off-grid growth in space and time. Such
planning therefore facilitates further detailing of design and rollout operationally.

4.17 The national geospatial least-cost strategic rollout plan serves to further
anchor and foster closer alignment of multiple and varied donor programs with
national priorities and targets, and to effect harmonization across donor programs. It
also facilitates and directs their financing support (called syndication) of the
investment prospectus on-grid or off-grid and in space and time (for further details,
see the following section).

SECTORWIDE ORGANIZING ARCHITECTURE AND PROGRAMMATIC FINANCING SHOWS PROMISE

In their own home grown manner, the good practice transformational national
programs for implementing electricity access scale (identified earlier), have adapted
in essence a sector-wide organizing architecture, comprehensive nationwide geospatial least
cost rollout plan, and programmatic financing framework. Their respective successes
serve to highlight the effectiveness and multiple ranging benefits of such a
framework for efficiently and rapidly advancing along a roadmap to achieve
universal access in a timely manner. Specifically, the sector wide investment
prospectus for grid and off-grid expansion would be anchored by the nationwide
least cost geospatial rollout plan to achieve the time-bound targets set by
Government on grid and off-grid, and updated regularly; and the enabling policy
and institutional framework also in place. Such a framework and process,
transparently and effectively facilitate: closer alignment of individual Donor
program designs with national priorities than otherwise; syndication of the
investment financing requirements (public sector portion) of an integrated grid and
off grid rollout implementation, on a rolling five year horizon programmatic basis,
and; facilitate timely and appropriate course corrections along the way should
circumstances and implementation progress in meeting planned access targets on-
grid and off-grid deviates significantly from expectations.

38
 References

References
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) 2015. Report on Sample Vital Registration System-2013. Dhaka,
Bangladesh: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Bangladesh Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources (MPEMR). 2014. “Power Sector
Update.” Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, Government of
the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
______. 2015. Scaling up Renewable Energy in Low-Income Countries (SREP): Investment Plan for
Bangladesh, October 2015. Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority,
Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, Government of the
People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
______. 2016. “Bangladesh’s Power Sector at a Glance.” Power Cell. Ministry of Power, Energy, and
Mineral Resources Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh.
http://www.powercell.gov.bd/site/page/d730f98d-8912–47a2–8a35–382c4935eddc/Power-
Sector-at-a-Glance
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) with Lighting Global of the World Bank Group and the
Global Off-Grid Lighting Association. 2016. “Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report 2016.
Chowdhury, S.A., S. Aziz, S. Groh, W.L. Filho 2015. “Off-Grid Rural Area Electrification through
Solar-Diesel Hybrid Minigrids in Bangladesh: Resource-Efficient Design Principles in
Practice.” Journal of Cleaner Production 95: 194–202.
Ettaik, Zohra. “Renewable Energy in Morocco: Large-Scale Deployment.” Presentation, Casablanca,
Morocco, June 2013.
International Energy Agency (IEA). 2014. World Energy Outlook 2014. Paris: International Energy
Agency.
International Energy Agency (IEA) and World Bank. 2015. Progress Toward Sustainable Energy:
Global Tracking Framework Report. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Independent Evaluation Group (IEG). 2015. World Bank Group Support to Electricity Access,
FY2000–2014: an Independent Evaluation. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
International Finance Corporation (IFC). 2007. Selling Solar. International Finance Corporation (IFC).
______. 2012. From Gap to Opportunity: Business Models for Scaling up Energy Access In
partnership with Austria. Washington, DC: International Finance Corporation.
Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). 2013. “From Darkness to Light: Rural Electricity in Morocco.”
IsDB Success Story Series No. 11, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Khandker, S. R., Samad, H.A., Sadeque, Z.K.M., Asaduzzaman, M., Yunus, M., Haque, A.K.E. 2014.
Surge in Solar-Powered Homes: Experience in Off-Grid Rural Bangladesh. Directions in
Development. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Nygaard, Ivan, and Touria Dafrallah. 2016. “Utility led rural electrification in Morocco: combining
grid extension, mini-grids, and solar home systems.” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews:
Energy and Environment 5 (2): 155–168.
Palit, D., and A. Chaurey. 2011. “Off-Grid Rural Electrification Experiences from South Asia: Status
and Best Practices.” Energy for Sustainable Development 15: 266–276

39
 References

Pavel, Enamul Karim. 2016. “IDCOL Renewable Energy Activities.” Presentation by Md. Enamul
Karim Pavel, Head of Renewable Energy, for the World Future Council, April 19, 2016.
Pueyo, Ana, Francisco Gonzalez, Chris Dent, and Samantha DeMartino. 2013. “The Evidence of
Benefits for Poor People of Increased Renewable Electricity Capacity: Literature Review.”
Brief Supporting Evidence Report 31, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK.
Pueyo, Ana, and Ramy Hanna. 2015. What Level of Electricity Access Is Required to Enable and
Sustain Poverty Reduction? Annex 1—Literature review. Bourton-on-Dunsmore, UK:
Institute of Development Studies and Practical Action Consulting.
Rai, Neha., Walters, Terri., Esterly, Sean., Cox, Sadie., Muzammil, Maliha., Mahmood, Tasfiq., Kaur,
Nanki., et al. 2015. “Policies to Spur Energy Access: Volume 2: Case Studies of Public-Private
Models to Finance Decentralized Electricity Access.” Technical Report NREL/TP-7A40-
64460, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado.
Rao, Narasima, Anjana Agarwal, and Davida Wood. et al. 2016. Impacts of Small-Scale Electricity
Systems: A Study of Rural Communities in India and Nepal. Washington, DC: World
Resource Institute.
Rahman, Farzana. 2016. “IDCOL Solar Programs Sustainable Business Models for Rural
Electrification in Bangladesh. Session 6: Alternative Financing Schemes and Business Models.
Farzana Rahman Unit Head (Investment), Renewable Energy.“ Paper presented at the Asian
Development Bank Energy for all Subregional Conference, April 11–12.
Tenenbaum, Bernard, Chris Greacen, Tilak Siyambalapitiya, and James Knuckles. 2014. From the
Bottom Up: How Small Power Producers and Mini-Grids Can Deliver Electrification and
Renewable Energy in Africa. Directions in Development: Energy and Mining. Washington,
DC: World Bank.
Willcox, Mary., Waters, Louise., Wanjiru, Hannah., Pueyo, Ana., Hanna, Ramy., Palit, Debajit.,
Sharma, Rahul K., 2015. Utilising Electricity Access for Poverty Reduction. Rugby, UK:
Practical Action Consulting.
World Bank. 2003b. “Sri Lanka Energy Service Delivery Project (ESD) (FY1997-FY2003; P010498).
Implementation Completion Report.” Report No. 25907, World Bank, Washington, DC.
______. 2011. One Goal, Two Paths: An Energy Strategy for East Asia and Pacific. Washington, DC:
World Bank.
______. 2013. “Toward a Sustainable Energy Future for All: Directions for the World Bank Group’s
Energy Sector.” Board Report 79597, World Bank, Washington, DC.
______. 2014a. “Bangladesh—Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development; and Power
Sector Development Technical Assistance Project. Project Performance Assessment Report.”
Report No. World Bank Group Washington, DC ;.
______. 2014b. Bangladesh Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development II (RERED II)
Project (P131263). Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR). Sequence No: 27
ARCHIVED on 15-Dec-2014, ISR17369.
______. 2014c. The Potential for Alternative Private Supply (APS) of Power in Developing Countries.
______. 2015 Bangladesh Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development II (RERED II)
Project (IDA Credit 5158-BD and 5514-BD, GPOBA TF096552, USAID TF015034, BCCRF
TF015077) Implementation Review Mission April 12–23, 2015 Aide Memoire.

40
 References

______. 2016. Supporting transformational change for poverty reduction and shared prosperity:
lessons from World Bank Group experience - an IEG category two learning product. IEG
category two learning product. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.

41
Appendix A: Off-Grid Electrification Issues and
Strategies in Country Partnership Strategy
documents of Low-Access Countries
Were Off-grid Were any
electrification new
CPS time issues discussed operation/
period begins significantly TA or
Region CPS Years FY2014 or and/or had nonlending
later? indicator? assistance
Country planned?
Angola AFR FY2014–16 Yes No No
Benin AFR FY2013–17 No Yes
Botswana AFR FY2016–20 Yes No No
Burkina Faso AFR FY2013–16 Yes Yes
Burundi AFR FY2013–16 No No
Cameroon AFR FY2010–13 No Yes
Central African
AFR FY2009–12 No No
Republic
Chad AFR FY2016–20 Yes No No
Comoros AFR FY2014–17 Yes No No
Congo, Dem. Rep. AFR FY2013–16 No No
Congo, Rep. AFR FY2010–12 No No
Djibouti AFR FY2014–17 Yes No No
Equatorial Guinea AFR None None None
Eritrea AFR FY2000 No No
Ethiopia AFR FY2013–16 Yes Yes
Gambia, The AFR FY2013–16 No No
Guinea AFR FY2014–17 Yes No No
Kenya AFR FY2014–18 Yes No Yes
Lesotho AFR FY2016–20 Yes No No
Liberia AFR FY2013–17 No Yes
Madagascar AFR FY2007–11 No No
Malawi AFR FY2013–16 No No
Mali AFR FY2016–19 Yes Yes Yes
Mauritania AFR FY2014–16 Yes No No
Mozambique AFR FY2012–15 Yes Yes
Namibia AFR FY2014–17 Yes No No
Niger AFR FY2013–16 No No
Nigeria AFR FY2014–17 Yes Yes Yes
Republic of South
AFR FY2013–14 No No
Sudan
Rwanda AFR FY2014–18 Yes No No
Seychelles AFR FY2012–15 No No
Sierra Leone AFR FY2010–13 No No
Somalia AFR FY2014–16 Yes No No
Sudan AFR FY2009 No
Swaziland AFR FY2015–18 Yes No No
Tanzania AFR FY2012–15 Yes Yes
Togo AFR FY2012–13 No No
Uganda AFR FY2016–21 Yes No Yes
Zambia AFR FY2013–16 No Yes

42
 Appendix A: Off-Grid Electrification Issues and Strategies in Country Partnership
Strategy documents of Low-Access Countries

Zimbabwe AFR FY2013–15 No No

Cambodia EAP FY2005–08 No No
Myanmar EAP FY2015–17 Yes No Yes
Papua New Guinea EAP FY2013–16 No Yes
Solomon Islands EAP FY2013–17 No No
Timor-Leste EAP FY2013–17 No No
Tuvalu EAP FY2012–15 No No
Vanuatu EAP None None None
Haiti LAC FY2016–2019 Yes Yes Yes
Yemen, Rep. MNA FY2010–13 No Yes
Afghanistan SAR FY2012–14 No No
Source: CPS, Country Partnership Framework (CPF), country assistance strategy (CAS), Interim Strategy Note (ISN),
Interim Support Strategy and Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) from the World Bank imagebank websites, country
websites or public websites.

Note: Includes Country partnership strategy, Country Partnership Framework (CPF), country assistance strategy (CAS),
interim strategy note (ISN), interim support strategy, and country economic memorandum (CEM)

43
Appendix B: World Bank and IFC Portfolio
Overview for Off-Grid Electrification
Table 1. World Bank Group: Commitments for Off-Grid Electrification: FY2000–2016 (May 1)
UNIT No. of Projects/ Off-grid commitment planned or %
operations final* (US$, million)
IFC 12 98 7
World 93
Bank 71 1388
Total 83 1486 16
Source: World Bank project appraisal documents, Mid Term Review Reports, Implementation Status and Result Reports,
Aid Memoire, Legal Documents, Implementation Completion and Results Reports and other project documents, IFC project
data websites, GEF project data websites, IFC (2007 and 2012)
* Planned commitments for active projects and actual amounts for closed projects; in some cases, assumptions made
where amounts for off-grid electrification were not explicitly disaggregated.
Table 2. Commitments for Off-Grid Electrification: FY2000–2016 (May 1) by Region
IFC World Bank
UNIT* No. of Commitment % UNIT* No. of Commitment %
Projects (US$M) Projects (US$M)
SAR 4 57.0 58 SAR 11 548.1 39
Global 5 35.9 37 AFR 31 404.3 29
AFR 3 5.0 5 LAC 11 252.8 18
Total 12 97.9 100 EAP 16 177.0 13
MNA 1 5.9 0
Total 70 1,388.1 100
Source: World Bank project appraisal documents, Mid Term Review Reports, Implementation Status and Result Reports,
Aid Memoire, Legal Documents, Implementation Completion and Results Reports and other project documents, IFC project
data websites, GEF project data websites, IFC (2007 and 2012)
* AFR (Sub-Saharan Africa); EAP (East Asia and Pacific); LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean); MNA (Middle East
andNothern Africa); and SAR (South Asia)

44
 Appendix B: World Bank and IFC Portfolio Overview for Off-Grid Electrification

Figure 1. World Bank Group Portfolio for Off-Grid Electrification: Approved or Closed during
FY2000–16
No. of Projects d. Commitments (US$M)

Source: World Bank project appraisal documents, Mid Term Review Reports, Implementation Status and Result Reports,
Aid Memoire, Legal Documents, Implementation Completion and Results Reports and other project documents, IFC project
data websites, GEF project data websites, IFC (2007 and 2012)

Table 3. Top 10 recipients of World Bank Group Assistance for Off-Grid Electrification: FY1999–
2016 (May 1)

Country Number of Commitments* for Off-grid Share of Electricity

operations Electrification total Access
(US$ million) comm. (%) Category
Closed Active
480.7 32 Medium
Bangladesh 1 1
Argentina 1 1 181.6 12 High
Mali 1 1 103.1 7 Low
Myanmar 1 90.0 6 Low
Uganda 1 2 78.8 5 Low
Ethiopia 2 1 68.9 5 Low
India 3 3** 52.6 4 High
Sri Lanka 2 1** 45.0 3 High
Bolivia 2 1 31.4 2 High
Liberia - 2 30.5 2 Low
Total for 10 countries 13 14 1,163 78
Total for All 41
43 39 1,486 100
countries
Source: World Bank and IFC databases
* Final disbursements in the case of closed projects.
** IFC operations status not available, and thus may have closed or still active.

45
Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid
Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16
World Bank/ IFC

Closing FY
Region

Electricity Sector

: Planned /Final*
Off- grid lending US$M

Cross-sectoral Issues
Project ID
No.

Commitment (US$ M)
Access Level

Approval FY

Closed/Active

Productive Uses
Project Name
Components
Country

Strategy for off-grid electrification was one of the PDO

indicators. At appraisal, this off-grid strategy was
Energy
included in the IDA financing (USD 2.55 million) of
World Service
1 AFR Benin L P079633 2005 C 2013 45.9 0 Component 2 Engineering Studies. This target was
Bank Delivery
partially achieved. The off-grid electrification strategy
Project
was completed by the government outside of the project
(no IDA financing) and has been implemented.
Increasing access in rural and remote areas: (i) Six diesel-
powered plants in the Sahel region ; (ii) Twenty locations
Energy electrified through the provision of 4,366 solar PV kits of
World Burkina
2 AFR L P078091 Access 2008 C 2015 39.4 2 Yes three lamps each, and 192 community service sites
Bank Faso
Project (village administration, health, education, and recreation
facilities); c ross-sectoral activities initially in the health,
education and water sector.
Improving efficient use of energy in target area:
Implement Lighting Africa activities including, inter alia:
(i) provision of capacity training on off-grid lighting in
Electricity
rural electrification strategies; (ii) develop public service
World Burkina Sector
3 AFR L P128768 2014 A 2020 50 1.1 Yes announcements and awareness campaigns to inform
Bank Faso Support
consumers of the benefits of solar lanterns and other
Project
good quality products; and (iii) deploy around 25,000
lanterns in public schools focusing on those in off-grid
communities.
Energy
and Renewable Energy Promotion and Development: Off-grid
World Cabo P040990
4 AFR M Water 1999 C 2007 8 0 electrification services using photovoltaic and wind
Bank Verde P042054
Sector systems ( largely superseded by on-grid electrification)
Reform

46
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

and
Developm
ent
Project
IFC trust fund investment in AES Sonel's PV off-grid rural
Camero IFC AES electrification to high density population centers, as a
5 IFC AFR L 11579 2007 C 2009 0.4 0.4
on Sonel substitute to diesel gensets; pilot concluded in August
2008
Energy
Sector Component I($45 million of which IDA $ 40 million): Rural
World Camero
6 AFR L P104456 Developm 2008 A 2017 65 20 Energy Fund (REF), including off-grid and on-grid.
Bank on
ent Assumed half of $ 40 million would be off-grid.
Project
Off-grid rural electrification: electrified 21 villages with
diesel generators (each village an average of 500
Energy households); prepared five minihydro projects but these
World P049395
7 AFR Ethiopia L Access 2003 C 2013 169.4 17 Yes projects were not completed prior to the project’s
Bank P077380
Project closing date; electrified 1,108 households with solar PV
system, through cooperatives; electrified 200 rural health
posts and 100 elementary schools with solar PV systems.
Second Given the lack of a clear institutional framework, capacity
Electricity concerns in REF and time needed with the minigrids,
World Access dropped the minigrids and focused on capacity building
8 AFR Ethiopia L P101556 2008 C 2015 98.9 19.6
Bank (Rural) of REF and implementation of GoE’s SHS program to
Expansion reach remote off-grid areas, installed 28,735 SHS in
Project households. 683 local technicians trained.
Electricity
Network Component 3: Market Development for Renewable
Reinforce Energy and Energy-Efficient Products: Development of
World
9 AFR Ethiopia L P119893 ment and 2012 A 2019 405.4 32 stand-alone renewable energy programs such as solar
Bank
Expansion home systems (SHSs), solar lanterns, especially in areas
Project that are not yet connected to the grid.
(ENREP)
Access to
Basic
Services
World in Rural Installation of solar home systems (SHSs) and minigrid
10 AFR Gabon H P144135 2016 A 2022 60 24.4 Yes
Bank Areas and solutions;
Capacity
Building
Project
Mini-Grids and Grid-Connected Renewable Energy,
Energy
World including Solar-photovoltaic systems for public
11 AFR Ghana M P074191 Developm 2008 A 2018 279.7 10 Yes
Bank institutions such as schools and clinics; Capacity Building:
ent and
Solar PV for public institutions; Improved Lighting & Solar

47
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Access Systems for Basic Schools; Off-grid Community Lighting

Project Project

Solar energy: Include companies developing promising–

Ghana but unproven– business models in renewable energy (on-
World Climate grid, off-grid, and home-based products such as solar
12 AFR Ghana M P145765 2016 A 2020 N.A. N.A. Yes Yes
Bank Innovatio lighting). Since supporting companies have not been
n Center decided, costs (lending commitment to energy sector
and off-grid) are N.A.
Financing Mechanism and Implementation of the
Decentralized Rural Electrification (DRE) Program,
through photovoltaic, picohydro, and diesel (or hybrid)
systems. (However, At project closure, 35 applications
Decentrali
had been processed, of which 32 resulted in signed
zed Rural
World agreements. 26 of the microgrids are currently operating
13 AFR Guinea L P074288 Electrifica 2003 C 2013 5.5 5.5
Bank and three are still under construction (including the
tion
picohydro project and all others a pico-diesel of 20–
Project
250kVA). No renewable energy subprojects were put in
service. Because the project was demand-driven, the
high upfront cost of renewable energy technologies
discouraged local investors.)
Linking rural agro-processing activities to off-grid energy
Kenya
sources: pilot energy facilities using local renewable
Agricultur
energy sources (for example,minihydro, biomass, wind
al
and solar). (Solar subproject delayed and some of them
World Productivi
14 AFR Kenya L P109683 2009 C 2016 2 2 Yes Yes could be commissioned by the end of project on
Bank ty and
September 30, 2015 but commissioned in December
Agribusin
2015, resulted in at least 2,180 members, which is about
ess
172 percent above the target set, linked feasible agri-
Project
business value chains to off-grid energy.)
Design and implementation of off-grid electrification
projects, including pilot programs.
Electricity CancelationCancelation decided at the mid term review
World
15 AFR Kenya L P103037 Expansion 2010 A 2018 335.2 in Jun 2015 due to procurement delay and deletion of
Bank
Project this sub component from the result framework noted in
the amendment to the Financial Agreement in April
0.0 2016.
Off-grid electrification (IDA US$2.5 million, SCF-SREP
grant US$7.5 million) will be implemented through
Electricity minigrids supplied preferably by hybrid generation
World P120014 Moderniz systems, combining renewable resources (solar or wind)
16 AFR Kenya L 2015 A 2020 457.5 10 Yes
Bank P145104 ation and thermal units This program would address the
Project barriers for commercial dissemination of stand-alone PV
and microgrid products and services for customers in
remote areas. This subcomponent will help (i) increase

48
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

income or productivity from promoting productive uses

of electricity in agricultural, commercial, and industrial
activities.

Providing Modern Renewable Energy Services to Off-Grid

Users, including Sub-component: Renewable energy pilot
Electricity activities in rural areas: (i) both a Sustainable Solar
System Market Packages (SSMP) and “Lighting Africa” approach
World P120660 Enhancem and (ii) a microhydropower plant rehabilitation, and Sub-
17 AFR Liberia L 2011 A 2017 45.5 3.5
Bank P129097 ent component Technical Assistance: supporting the
Project institutional framework in support of modern renewable
(LESEP) off-grid options, developing policy foundations and
strategy work necessary to underpin this sub-
component.
Liberia
Renewabl
World
18 AFR Liberia L P149683 e Energy 2016 A 2021 27 27 Market development of stand-alone solar systems
Bank
Access
Project
Electricity
Sector
Operation
s and Consultancy services required for the definition of a
World Madagas
19 AFR L P151785 Governan 2016 A 2020 65 0.2 strategy and action plans to increase electricity access in
Bank car
ce the whole Madagascar, both on-grid and off-grid.
Improvem
ent
Project)
Energy Services Delivery, including about 83 private
operators of mini or micro diesel (for example, AF RP
2011 indicates 45–450kilowatts), as of June 30, 2012, a
cumulative number of about 74,787 connections had
been made, exceeding the target of 68,896 connections.
A cumulative number of 1295 public and community
Househol
institutions and centers are connected including 218
d Energy
schools and 168 health centers. Multifunctional
World P073036 and
20 AFR Mali L 2004 C 2012 74.5 58.2 Yes Yes platforms have been installed in 81 communities.
Bank P076440 Universal
Approximately 4,700 users are overall connected to the
Access
platforms. The original end target of installing 11,726
Project
solar photovoltaic systems was partially achieved. A total
of 8,141 systems were installed by the GEF grant closing
date of June 30, 2009. The decision not to extend the
GEF Grant was because at that time private operators
were not interested in adopting as much as expected
solar technologies and beneficiaries also wanted multiple

49
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

uses of energy services that were difficult to be provided

by solar home systems.

Service Improvement and Extension of Existing Minigrids:

Hybrid Generation about 96kilowattsp (total 4.8
megawattp) of solar PV to mini diesel systems (200–
250kV) total about 50 diesel minigrids; Minigrid
Rural
Extension and Densification, including SHS, Development
Electrifica
of Off-grid Lighting Markets and Energy Efficiency, which
World tion
21 AFR Mali L P131084 2014 A 2021 44.9 44.9 Yes Yes will (i) expand off-grid lighting and solar lanterns in
Bank Hybrid
targeted rural areas through catalyzing the markets, and
System
(ii) improve energy efficiency and promote a rational and
Project
efficient use of electricity on targeted minigrids. Aligned
with the approach of the World Bank Group’s Lighting.
Africa program; Project Management Support and
Capacity Building,
Independent Grid Rural Electrification: No independent
grid concession operational at completion of the project,
Study to identify productive uses of electricity completed
Energy but no implementation of the recommendation.
Reform Renewable Energy and Cross-Sectoral Linkages (USD
World Mozamb P069183
22 AFR L and 2004 C 2011 46.3 6.7 6.65 million): Solar PV systems installed in clinics and
Bank ique P071942
Access schools, but the main issues (i) quality of the initial
Project installations including components, (ii) difficult and costly
maintenance due to the remoteness of the systems, and
(iii) theft and vandalism. Also, residential solar PV
systems
Investments on Rural and Renewable Energy
Component, Sub-component 2.1: Solar Systems and
Technologies (US $9.25 million) including Institutional
Solar Systems (Rural Schools/Health Clinics), Community
Solar Systems (including identifying productive uses that
use electricity; Commercialization of energy equipment;
search for new and Biomass Energy Systems only
Energy
regarding (a) multifunctional energy service platforms
Developm
World Mozamb (USD 2 million) which run on Direct Vegetable Oil (DVO)
23 AFR L P108444 ent and 2010 A 2017 80 12.3 Yes Yes
Bank ique and/or Biodiesel in rural villages, innovative solutions for
Access
the most common maintenance jobs (such as weeding in
Project 2
gardens), as a way of involving the community and thus
contributing to the creation of local employment),
Promotion of Rural Electrification (assumed half of US
$2.0 million), support the elaboration, consultation
process and dissemination of a comprehensive national
“Rural Electrification Strategy and Investment Program
(RESIP)” including off-grid and on grids.

50
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Second
Climate
This DPO supports "Improving the investment
World Mozamb Change
24 AFR L P146398 2015 C 2015 N.A. N.A. environment for private sector participation in both off
Bank ique Developm
and on-grid renewables"
ent Policy
Operation
Supporting government’s efforts to increase electricity
Electricity
access in the country by financing a National
World Access
25 AFR Niger L P153743 2016 A 2022 65 0.7 Electrification Strategy and measures to expand access in
Bank Expansion
rural areas. The strategy will consider both on-grid and
Project
off-grid solutions.
Off-grid electrification in Mfaminyen in Cross River State:
installation of solar PV panels for electrification and
battery charging, a public community space with an ICT
business center and TV, solar streetlights and a solar-
National powered water borehole. (ii) Off-grid electrification in
Energy Ogun, Imo, and Kaduna: 45 solar home systems and 17
World
26 AFR Nigeria L P090104 Developm 2006 C 2012 167.2 3.6 Yes Yes solar streetlights, including for community markets, and
Bank
ent two solar water pumps to promote the commercial
Project activities of Fadama user groups. (iii) Cross-sector energy
applications developed two model agreements with
telecommunication companies that require electricity for
telecom towers in off-grid rural areas. (iv) Support
drafting of renewable energy master plan
Sustainable development of micro hydro resources : (i)
developing national installation and user guidelines for
institutional PV applications, (ii) building capacity and
conducive frameworks to allow local private firms to
participate in international tendering for the Rwandan
market, and (iii) supporting the development of a
commercial SHS (Solar Home System) market for rural
Sustainabl
areas. (By project closing, about 45 enterprises were
e Energy
World involved in the RE business (solar and pico/micro hydro)
27 AFR Rwanda L P097818 Developm 2010 C 2015 11.7 1.9
Bank and 69 were in businesses related to biomass-efficient
ent
utilization (improved cook stoves, biogas and efficient
Project
charcoaling), according to results of surveys conducted in
December 2013. Survey results also indicated that these
enterprises employed about 1,460 personnel, which is
significantly above the original project target of 75. The
project has facilitated about 9.5 megawatt of micro
hydro sites, representing annual energy savings of about
400 megawatth from the installed solar water heaters)
IFC
Provide electricity 1,852 rural users with individual solar
28 IFC AFR Senegal M 30094 Comasel 2012 N.A. 0.8 0.1
kits.
Louga

51
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Energy
Developm
World P101645 ent and Green mini/micro grid; Sustainable Solar Market
29 AFR Tanzania L 2008 A 2017 167 17.1 Yes Yes
Bank P092154 Access Development
Expansion
Project
IFC GEF
Support the deployment of approximately 100K solar
30 IFC AFR Tanzania L 34292 Off-Grid 2014 N.A. 4.5 4.5
home systems across Tanzania
Electric
Solar PV systems in homes, community institutions,
Energy for
Component 4: Cross-sectoral linkages ; 512 solar systems
Rural
World P069996 in health centers, 20 solar water pumping systems, 94 of
31 AFR Uganda L Transform 2002 C 2009 67.5 6.3 Yes Yes
Bank P070222 the 129 Educational institutions using solar systems.
ation
Costs were estimated from PAD using the proportional
Project
changes at the ICR.
Energy for
Rural Energy Infrastructure, Off-grid Renewable Energy
Rural
World Investments; Technical Assistance and Training ; Impact
32 AFR Uganda L P112334 Transform 2009 A 2016 101.5 49 Yes
Bank Monitoring, finance solar PV energy packages for remote
ation
health, education, and water facilities
Project II
Off-grid Energy Access Solar PV systems for public
institutions in rural areas; business development
support; provision of credit facilities to enhance
electricity access; and quality standards enforcement
support. Consultancy services, capacity building
Uganda
activities, and operations costs. Implemented by several
Energy for
World P133312 IAs—Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Water and
33 AFR Uganda L Rural 2015 A 2021 143.2 23.5 Yes
Bank P146876 Environment (MoWE), Ministry of Education, Science,
Transform
Technology and Sports (MoESTS), the Private Sector
ation III
Foundation Uganda (PSFU), and UECCC—under the
coordination of the Project Coordination Unit (PCU)
within the MEMD. Component 3: Institutional
Strengthening and Impacts Monitoring (Assumed USD
1 million for off-grid from US$4.5 million IDA).
Increased
Access to
World P077452 Solar PV (households, Schools, Hospitals), Mini Grids
34 AFR Zambia L Electricity 2008 C 2015 55.9 5.7 Yes
Bank P076320 (dropped)
Services
Project
Rural Rural Electrification Fund, including SHS and off grids but
Electrifica since some of REEs became SPDs assumed half the cost
World Cambodi P064844
35 EAP L tion and 2004 C 2912 40.6 3.5 Yes of Component C, mini/village hydro found unfeasible
Bank a P071591
Transmissi Institutional development and sector reform - income
on Project generation, off-grid, regulations, REF, etc.

52
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

PV Component: More than two million people in western

China have been provided with access to modern
electricity services through PV systems. Sales are
concentrated in Tibet, Qinghai. Sichuan and Xinjiang.
Total PV systems sales reported by the PV companies
Renewabl exceeded 500,000 with REDP-verified sales exceeding
e Energy 400,000 units with an aggregate capacity of 11.1
World P046829
36 EAP China U Developm 1999 C 2008 39.8 25.5 megawattp compared with a goal of 350,000 units with a
Bank P038121
ent capacity of 10 megawattp. The TI component, consisting
Project of an investment subcomponent only for PV
manufacturers and the institutional strengthening. The
ex post analysis covers the full amount of the grant
allocated to the PV and TI components, totaling
$25.5 million. All TI expenditures were allocated against
the verified PV systems sold under the project.
Provision of credit through participating local commercial
banks (PBs) to private Solar Homes Systems (SHS) dealers
for the sale and installation of solar PV systems for
homes and commercial establishments such as small
Solar shops, and (2) TA for a Renewable Energy for Rural
World Indonesi P035544 Home Transformation Study and Action Plan, establish a Project
37 EAP H 1997 C 2001 5.3 4.8
Bank a P003700 Systems Support Group (PSG) to provide assistance to SHS dealers
Project and end-users, to monitor and evaluate project progress,
and to conduct limited SHS related training to
government officials and private sector organizations;
and assist GOI in building Indonesia's institutional
capabilities for the dissemination of solar PV technology.
Power
Distributi
on
World Indonesi Develop Island based minigrid systems are included although not
38 EAP H P154805 2016 A 2020 500 N.A.
Bank a ment mentioned in the Program Document
Program-
for-
Results
Southern
Off-Grid Rural Electrification, which piloted the use of
Provinces
small-scale, stand-alone generation systems such as
World Rural
39 EAP Lao PDR M P044973 1998 C 2005 35.11 2.1 microhydro and diesel minigrids as well as solar battery
Bank Electrifica
charging stations in remote rural communities on a
tion
financially sustainable basis.
Project
Off-grid Investment Program SHS. Institutional
Rural
P075531 Strengthening: MEM outsourced the overall
World Electrifica
40 EAP Lao PDR M P080054 2006 C 2012 23.7 6.7 coordination, implementation and monitoring of the off-
Bank tion Phase
P119715 grid component to a contractor known as Village Off-grid
I Project
Promotion and Support or VOPS. Alternative RE Delivery

53
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Models: Fifteen village hydro projects were identified but

not implemented. Income generation linkage assessment
completed. An RE master plan and a geo-referenced RE
database were developed and related staff in MEM were
trained to maintain and update the geographic
information system database. An assessment of
mini/micro hydro resources and rehabilitation of existing
mini/micro hydro plants was completed.
Off-Grid Investment Program: SHSInstitutional
Strengthening: consultancy services to manage the
Rural village off-grid program and to monitor debt collection
World P110978 Electrifica performance, Alternative Rural Electrification Delivery
41 EAP Lao PDR M 2010 C 2015 34.3 3.5
Bank P117177 tion Phase Models: design, supply, install, and supervise pilot
II Project projects for village hydropower to be developed under
public-private partnership schemes, insufficient income-
generating activity at village hydro sites.
Herders’ Electricity Access -SHSs; Soum Center Electricity
Renewabl
Service – to develop the institutional and technical
e Energy
capacity of off-grid SC electricity services; and to invest in
and Rural
World Mongoli P099321 minigrid rehabilitation and R/RDHSs.; Institutional
42 EAP H Electrifica 2007 C 2012 12.3 12.3
Bank a P084766 Capacity Building – to strengthen national renewable
tion
energy policy development and to support institutional
Access
development of the National Renewable Energy Center
Project
(NREC) training.
Off-grid electrification: (i) solar photovoltaic devices or
systems for a target of 456,500 households; (ii) minigrids
to serve some 35,500 households; (iii) electricity
connections for 11,400 health clinics, schools and other
community buildings; and (iv) installation of 19,000
public street lights. IDA off-grid component is designed
National
to complement and coordinate with IFC’s proposed
World Myanma Electrifica
43 EAP L P152936 2016 A 2022 400 90 Yes Lighting Myanmar program; develop an integrated
Bank r tion
framework to plan electrification, monitor result and
Project
evaluate impacts; secure technical advice and consulting
services, including on standards, technology assessment
and technical design, economic and financial analysis,
environmental and social impact management,
procurement and financial management; and (v) improve
Project management.
Sustainabl
World Pacific e Energy
44 EAP L P098423 2007 A 2018 8.4 4.2 Yes Yes This project covers or solar PV, picohydro.
Bank Islands Finance
Project

54
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Provide an affordable financing package which will make

the purchase of solar lighting kits affordable for teachers,
health workers, and eventually the general public; Build
Teacher’s capacity within the PNG renewable energy industry, by
Papua Closed
World Solar requiring retailers to obtain PV-Gap certification (which
45 EAP New L P088940 2006 C date 1 1 Yes Yes
Bank Lighting include ISO 9000) and by regularly producing a catalog
Guinea N.A.
Project with certified solar PV components; and Build consumer
awareness and confidence in the use of solar lighting, by
requiring extensive outreach and support to Solar House
Lighting Kit (SHLK) purchasers;
Rural Electrification (2) decentralized electrification
supported investments in small power generation,
decentralized grids and stand -alone RET systems, most
P066397 Rural
World Philippin notably photovoltaic (PV) systems ( About 10 new
46 EAP H P113159 Power 2004 C 2013 31.1 15.6
Bank es productive applications initiated in pilot areas, Not
P072096 Project
achieved: During implementation of the GEF Grant,
efforts for developing productive applications were not
pursued, due to the prioritization of other activities.)
The investment components included three main
subcomponents: (i) construction of a dual-fuel power
plant using the gas from the seeps and diesel oil for
power generation (150kilowatts*3); (ii) building of 20 kV
Gas Seep distribution lines to connect the proposed power plant to
World Timor
47 EAP L P092055 Harvestin 2007 C 2012 0.3 0.3 the existing isolated EDTL systems and to new consumers
Bank Leste
g Project in the rural communities near the proposed power plant;
and (iii) introducing a system of revenue collection using
cost-effectivecost-effective metering system. (Project
dropped because seepage gas was much lower than that
at the feasibility study. Also grid expanded.)
Energy Renewable Energy Investment included a satellite-based
Sector communications system on Funafuti and three of the
World
48 EAP Tuvalu L P144573 Developm 2015 A 2019 7 0.2 seven outer islands to remotely monitor, control, and
Bank
ent improve the operation and maintenance of its hybrid
Project power system and enhance customer service.
Electrification of off-grid households, aid posts and
community halls, focus on solar PV systems of between 5
Rural
to 30 Watts peak capacity that are of “plug-an- play”
World Electrifica
49 EAP Vanuatu L P150908 2015 A 2020 4.7 4.7 type, Component Two: Technical assistance and project
Bank tion
management, including Vendor and product registration
Project
arrangements, communications and microfinance
products and Project management and support
System
World P066396 Efficiency
50 EAP Vietnam U 2002 C 2013 301.9 2.5 Community-based hybrid renewable energy grids.
Bank P073778 Improvem
ent,

55
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Equitizati
on and
Renewabl
es
IFC GEF Up to 20–30 percent of the money has also been set
Renewabl aside for smaller, off-grid sector loans (Millioner and
e Energy Hope 2000). CanceledCanceled in 2007. REEF made only
Glob and one investment during its first two years of operations,
51 IFC Global L 7735 2000 C 2007 30 N.A.
al Energy due to challenging market conditions and changes in
Efficiency investor expectations. The private equity fund was closed
Fund down in 2003 at the request of the fund's private
(REEF) investors.
IFC GEF
Environm
ental Absorbed the IFC GEF SME Program as a successor to,
Glob
52 IFC Global L 504446 Business 2004 C 2014 20 N.A. and based on, the experiences of the SME Program (IFC
al
Finance 2007).
Program
(EBFP)
Increase access to finance, build capacity, and increase
markets for SMEs active in the areas of climate change
IFC GEF mitigation (energy efficiency and renewable energy) and
Small and biodiversity conservation through the provision of
Glob Medium concessional loan financing. Solar PV projects included
53 IFC Global L 7327 1996 C 2007 19.8 2.7
al Scale Grameen Shakti, Bangladesh; Environmental Enterprise
Enterprise Assistance Fund (EEAF) Soluz Dominicana, Dominican
Program Republic; Soluz Honduras, Honduras; E + Co Rex
Investment, Tanzania; Cogener, Tunisia; Selco Vietnam,
Vietnam. (Source IFC 2007).
Accelerate the sustainable commercialization and
IFC GEF financial viability of energy services based on solar PV
Global Photovolt technology in India, Kenya, and Morocco. Selco India,
(India, aic India; Eskom-Shell Solar Home Systems, India; Shri
Glob
54 IFC Kenya, H 502223 Market 1998 C 2010 30.4 30.4 Shakti, India; SREI Infrastructure Finance, Ltd. India;
al
Morocco Transform Barclays Bank, Kenya, Kenya; Equity Building Society
) ation (EBS) Kenya; Muramati District Tea Growers SACCO,
Initiative Kenya; Salafin S.A. Morocco; Sunlight Power Maroc,
Morocco. (source IFC 2007)
IFC GEF
Solar
Developm
Glob
55 IFC Global L N.A. ent Group 2001 2.9 2.9
al
(consists
of for
profit

56
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

private
equity
fund Solar
Developm
ent
Corporati
on (SDC)
and
nonprofit
Solar
Developm
ent
Foundatio
n) [6]
Electricity Generating Equipment for Rural Markets: (a)
SHS (b) small off-grids (with output range of 3 kilowatts
Renewabl
to 10 kilowatts each, including photovoltaic,
e Energy
minihydropower plants, small wind turbines, diesel
World Argentin P006043 in the
56 LAC H 1999 C 2013 89.3 85.5 Yes Yes plants or hybrid plants) and (c) some 1,100 RES in
Bank a P045048 Rural
provincial public service institutions (schools, medical
Market
centers, etc.), solar-powered water pumps and two
Project
biomass generation projects; Pilot Wind Home System
(WHS);
Renewable electricity service provision
(US$183.40 million IBRD). (a) the acquisition and
installation of stand-alone solar systems, stand-alone
Argentina
wind systems, Pico-photovoltaic (PV) for isolated
Renewabl
individual households and public facilities in rural areas
World Argentin e Energy
57 LAC H P133288 2015 A 2021 200 96.1 Yes Yes (b) the construction and/or upgrade of minigrids ranging
Bank a for Rural
100kilowatts-4megawatt (including minihydro, as
Areas
applicable) (c) the acquisition and installation of water
Project
pumping systems (d) the acquisition and installation of
equipment to microenterprises for the development of
individual or collective productive uses activities.
Promulgation of Supreme Decree 28567 and Bolivian
Decentrali
norms for SHS, together with Supreme Decree 29365 for
zed
Financing mechanisms; Solar PV System Installation and
Infrastruct
World Market Development, SHS in households, schools, and
58 LAC Bolivia H P073367 ure for 2003 C 2011 21.3 9.6 Yes Yes
Bank clinics,Productive and Social Uses, 240 users of PV
Rural
systems for wool shearing, 14 users of PV systems for
Transform
poultry industry, two users of PV systems for store
ation
lighting, Over 100 PV users for powering machine tools,
Bolivia New Solar Home Systems (SHS) service contracts; Pico-
World
59 LAC Bolivia H P102479 Decentrali 2007 C 2013 5.2 5.2 Yes Photo Voltaic Pilot; Transaction Support TA (a) External
Bank
zed audits and Output Monitoring and Verification (M&E)

57
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Electricity
For
Universal
Access
Electricity services for Unserved Areas: Individual Solar
Access Photovoltaic Systems; Solar Photovoltaic Systems in
and Public Institutions; Provision of support to Bolivia’s
World
60 LAC Bolivia H P127837 Renewabl 2014 A 2022 50 16.7 Yes strategies on energy access and clean energy through,
Bank
e Energy inter alia: (i) design, installation and evaluation of pilot
Project energy access systems in unserved areas through new
technologies, including Pico-PV systems.
Component 1.2. Improving off-grid electricity access (IDA
$ 7.8 million): This sub-component would seek to
Rebuildin establish new nonpublic utility Electricité d’Haïti (EDH)
g Energy connections to electricity services, including off-grid
World Infrastruct public lights, including SHS, systems for collective uses
61 LAC Haiti L P127203 2013 A 2018 90 7.8 Yes
Bank ure and (street lighting, hospitals and health units, schools,
Access community services, etc) and/or minigrid, and solutions
Project for rapid responses to disasters. Synergies with other
World Bank Group -financed operations (for example,
Job Creation and Sector Growth Project).
Off-grid electricity service delivery: Investments in village
microgrids using hydro and other renewable energy
technologies (50–100kilowatts each); Off-grid MHP
technical assistance; Solar Photovoltaic Market
Development Program for households, commercial users
Rural (retail stores, rural restaurants, microenterprises, etc)
World Hondura Infrastruct and institutional users (schools, clinics, community
62 LAC H P086775 2006 A 2016 62.6 7.6 Yes
Bank s ure centers, etc) in dispersed off-grid areas; Local Capacity
Project Building and Policy Development TA; improving access,
quality and sustainability of electricity services through
the development of off-grid electrification model
projects for the rural poor in Honduras, and developing
capacities and enabling environment for off-grid
electrification in a decentralized setting in Honduras.
The project consisted of a set of interrelated and
mutually supporting activities which were implemented
concurrently: a campaign promoting the use of
Renewabl
renewable energy (solar PV, wind and hybrid) by farmers;
e Energy
World studies to identify the potential market for renewable
63 LAC Mexico L P060718 for 2000 C 2006 8.9 8.9 Yes Yes
Bank energy systems in the agricultural sector; installation and
Agricultur
demonstration of renewable energy systems; technical
e Project
assistance in the maintenance and operation of these
systems; establishment of specifications and certification
systems; a pilot program to test vendor financing of

58
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

energy systems and components in four states; technical

assistance for agricultural extension personnel advising
farmers on the proper operation of renewable energy
systems;
Focus would be solely on simpler, more reliable
photovoltaic (PV) technology in the form of centralized
"solar farms (CSF) Farms (about 40–195kilowatts each)",
feeding distribution lines to supply electricity to
households and the productive and institutional sectors
Integrated (community services, churches and health posts) (other
World P088996 Energy renewable energy technologies in the original Project,
64 LAC Mexico U 2008 C 2016 23.9 0 Yes Yes
Bank P095038 Services including biomass gasifiers, micro hydropower and
Project micro-wind generators would not be included as they
have proved more complex to organize install and
maintain, compared to PV technology (The limited
capacity provided for individual households in the
original plan is considered a major cause of the generally
lukewarm social acceptance for the Project)
Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Policies and
Strategies - A national rural electrification strategy
integrates off-grid electrification and the use of
renewable energy technologies (RETs); Rural
Off-grid Electrification sub-projects - Off-grid pilot projects
Rural (households, schools, clinics, etc.) demonstrate viability
World Nicaragu P073246 Electrifica and the delivery mechanism for public/private
65 LAC M 2003 C 2012 17.4 8.7 Yes Yes
Bank a P075194 tion investments; Microfinance services for rural subprojects-
Project Provision of microfinance services by sustainable MFIs is
(PERZA) available to increase affordability of off-grid systems for
households and hookups and productive plans for micro
and small businesses; Business Development Services
(BDS) for rural subprojects - support the increase in social
and economic benefits of rural electrification;
Investment in Rural Electrification Sub-projects, based on
economic analysis and project cost in annexes, estimated
SHS financed by IBRD based on the proportional shares
of on-grid and off-grid (SHS). Assumed half the cost of
Technical Assistance for Rural Electrification because it
Rural
P090116 included the national PV tariff for regulated service with
World Electrifica
66 LAC Peru H , 2006 C 2013 52.6 6.9 Yes Yes PV systems, prefeasibility studies to assist the
Bank tion
P090110 development of subprojects using 7,000 PV systems ,
Project
assumed half the cost of Pilot Program for Promotion of
Productive Uses of Electricity (to adopt electricity and
use equipment to process rice, cereals, coffee, cocoa,
baked goods, meat products, wood and metal products
and handicrafts, and to pump water for expanded

59
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

agricultural production and processing. It is estimated

that the program has benefited directly more than
100,000 people) and Component 5 Project Management.

This component would provide electricity service to off-

RY-Rural grid areas based on SHS. The areas of focus will be the
World MN Energy fringe areas of the 12 selected service territories that are
67 Yemen L P092211 2009 A 2017 25 5.9
Bank A Access on-grid extensions and areas outside the service
Project territories in the seven governorates which have been
defined as off-grid areas.
REB Solar Technical Assistance, IDCOL Technical
Assistance, REB Solar Program, C1: IDCOL Renewable
Rural
Energy Sub-loans, Scale up the renewable energy
Electrifica
component; Technical assistance This component aimed
tion and
to increase technical assistance specifically for a) Quality
World Banglad P071794 Renewabl 246.
68 SAR M 2002 C 2013 485 Assurance of SHS though PV and SHS lab and field testing
Bank esh P074040 e Energy 3
/ inspection, support to Technical Standard Committee
Developm
for quality improvement, and collection efficiency
ent
inspections b) training and consumer outreach and
Project
environmental improvement through battery and CFL
recycling support
Rural
Electrifica
tion and A. Access to Electricity (SHS and Remote Areas Supply
Renewabl System (RASS) for example, solar minigrids about 103
World Banglad P131263 234.
69 SAR M e Energy 2013 A 2019 264.4 Yes kilowattsp, Solar irrigation water pump with 6.5
Bank esh P150001 4
Developm kilowattsp solar, 200 kilowatts biomass
ent II gasifier/generator system, etc.
(RERED II)
Project
PV capacity financed was 2.145 megawattp in 78
Renewabl
projects, slightly below the target of 2.5 megawattp.
e
Products financed ranged from 5 watt peak solar
World Resources
70 SAR India H P010410 1993 C 2002 185 8.2 lanterns, 900 watt peak PV irrigation pumps, 500–2500
Bank Developm
watt peak solar power packs, and 25 kilowattsp village
ent
power schemes to a 200 kilowattsp grid tied system.
Project
Included solar PV minigrids in Sagar Islands.
IFC Moser Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Limited (MBPV), a recently
Baer India incorporated entity, is setting up an export oriented solar
71 IFC SAR India H 25017 2008 N.A. 22.5 22.5
Ltd. photovoltaic (PV) cell and module manufacturing facility
(MBIL) with an installed capacity of 80 megawatt.
Second
Solar microgrids, mobile stations and lanterns as a
World Madhya
72 SAR India H P102331 2009 C 2015 N.A. N.A. Yes Yes solution for the problem of erratic electricity supply in
Bank Pradesh
rural areas that affects livelihoods and education, and
District

60
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Poverty complemented other wide-ranging integrated livelihood

Initiatives development activities in the project.
Project

Husk Power Systems Inc. install and operate 35–100

kilowatts “mini power plants” that delivers electricity as
a “pay-for-use” service using a point-to-point system that
connects each household or business directly to the HPS
IFC Husk
power station. HPS sets up these plants in consultation
73 IFC SAR India H 29024 Power 2011 N.A. 0.4 0.4
with villagers at no fee to the village and procures rice
Systems
husk/feedstock at negotiated rates. The firm sets up
village-wide distribution systems that wire each
household, irrigation station, and commercial enterprise
with electricity
Applied Solar Technologies (AST) is a solar PV based off-
grid power solution company that provides off-grid solar
power currently to telecom towers which often rely on
IFC
diesel based generation for 50–100 percent of their
Applied
power requirements. AST builds and operates these solar
74 IFC SAR India H 29501 Solar 2011 N.A. 21 21
installations and takes over the power supply
Technolog
management of each site. It uses a combination of solar
ies
PV, battery back-up and diesel generator making it a
hybrid energy solution that optimizes the usage of
various sources through a controller.
Scaling up
Deployme Detailed feasibility studies and preparing projects for
nt of setting up renewable energy based off-grid electrification
Renewabl under PPP mode. Short-term residential training
World e Energy programs were also organized for State Nodal Agencies
75 SAR India H P119894 2011 C 2016 1.1 0.6
Bank Technolog (SNA), NGOs, and Entrepreneurs on Model RE based
y for Micro Grid Power Projects in Remote Areas. This TA
Promotin project has off-grid focus but to be conservative, half of
g Business the cost is assumed.
Models
Part B. Micro Hydro Village Electrification Program
Power
(MHVEP) with average 20kilowatts per system, including
World P043311 Developm
76 SAR Nepal L 2003 C 2014 115.6 22.1 Yes Yes Community Energy Fund for income-generating activities,
Bank P116190 ent
Grant for power connections for schools and health
Project
posts, etc.
: Rural Enhanced Energy Services Component:
Kabeli Microhydro 250kilowatts of new micro hydro generation
World
77 SAR Nepal L P112893 Transmissi 2011 A 2017 38 0.7 Yes capacity to be installed to benefit 2000 households, 300
Bank
on Project SHS, Solar PV in 10 school and 5 health posts and
Improved cooking fuel Biogas 200 households.

61
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

SREP-
Technical Assistance (a) Identification and Prefeasibility
Supported
World Studies,(b) Detailed Feasibility Studies, (c) Post
78 SAR Nepal H P131592 Extended 2015 A 2020 7.9 4
Bank Construction Third Party Verification, Financing of
Biogas
Investments.
Project
Distribution System Planning and Loss Reduction
Component 2. (d) capacity building for distribution
system planning, included development of a geographic
information system database with information/data of
Grid Solar locations and details regarding the NEA’s existing
and generation, transmission, and distribution facilities; grid-
World
79 SAR Nepal H P146344 Energy 2015 A 2021 130 N.A. connected customers; potential customers in grid-
Bank
Efficiency covered areas; potential demands in areas not covered
Project by national grid; among others, for distribution system
planning. The geographic information system database is
critical for on- and off-grid rural electrification planning,
loss reduction, planning, and distribution system and
customer management.
Under ASEP, PV mainstreaming (PVM) entails rural
electrification via solar home systems (SHS) of an
estimated 40,500 households within the coverage areas
of the participating Electric Cooperatives (ECs). Private
sector entities will supply and install the systems.
Through the contributions of the EU and also the Global
Partnership for Output Based Aid, PVM will target ECs
seeking to receive grants in the form of a competitively
Access to allocated capital subsidy for SHS distribution and
Sustainabl installation. Notably, PVM will subsidize only SHS and
World Philippin
80 e Energy 2016 A 2020 34.9 N.A. appliances that are quality-certified by Lighting Global
Bank es P153268
Program (LG). Three “must-haves” for the SHS kits were identified
me in order to achieve successful implementation of ASEP: (i)
plug-and-play features of the packages delivered; (ii) the
use of lithium-ion batteries for powering the kits; and (iii)
the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to meet the
lighting needs of the targeted households. The Project
has now entered its supply chain-building phase, which
entails market soundings with interested private sector
entities and an in-country Expo to bring suppliers, ECs
and other relevant stakeholders together.
Energy
Estimated with proportional changes in project costs in
World Services
81 SAR Sri Lanka H P010498 1997 C 2003 28.1 6.4 ICR from PAD, ESD Credit Program Village Hydro, SHS,
Bank Delivery
Business Development and Off-grid support
Project

62
 Appendix C: World Bank Operations and IFC Projects with Off-Grid Electrification Objectives or Components, FY2000–16

Solar PV Investments, of the 110,575 SHS sold; an

Renewabl
estimated 20,000 were repossessed by the PCIs due to
e Energy
defaults by households on their loans and Component 3.
World P076702 for Rural
82 SAR Sri Lanka H 2002 C 2012 135.3 25.6 Independent Grid Systems 173 community-based micro
Bank P077761 Economic
hydro systems and two community-based biomass
Developm
electricity systems. The average capacity of the village
ent
systems was 10 kilowatts
IFC GEF
The financial mechanism used by the Program is a
Portfolio
portfolio risk-sharing facility to encourage local
Approach
commercial banks to increase their exposure to small-
to
scale renewable energy projects. Under this mechanism,
Distribute
IFC pledges to cover 50 percent losses that may arise
d
83 IFC SAR Sri Lanka H 28662 2010 N.A 13.1 13.1 from renewable energy loans that are advanced by
Generatio
partner banks. Funds from the GEF are used to provide
n
first loss coverage. (source: IFC
Opportuni
http://ifcext.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/651aeb16abd
ty
09c1f8525797d006976ba/03fd07b0dd75cfb2852576ba0
(PADGO)
00e2df2?opendocument)
(Phase 1)
Source: World Bank Group project documents and databases

63
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification:
Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences
in Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector
Efforts
1. Bolivia

The World Bank has been supporting off grids electricity access with the solar home
system (SHS) and pico-solar photovoltaic (PV) through the Decentralized
Infrastructure for Rural Transformation Project (IDTR, P073367, FY2003–11)28,
Decentralized Electricity for Universal Access Project (EDAU, P102479, FY2008–13)
and ongoing IDTR2 which was renamed Access and Renewable Energy Project
(IDTR2, P127837, FY2014-). The IDTR and EADU achieved the total number of both
project’ combined installation of SHS and pivo-PV equivalent of about 2.7 percent of
rural households in 2012.29 If the IDTR2 achieves the target number of SHS and pico-
photovoltaic installation set at the project appraisal, the total of the IDTR and IDTR2
and EADU’s SHS and pico-photovoltaic installation would be an equivalent of
4.5 percent of total rural households in 2012.30 In Bolivia, 72.5 percent of the rural
population had access to electricity, whereas 90.5 percent of the total population and
99.2 percent of the urban population had access to electricity in 2012 (IEA and World
Bank 2015).

The IDTR and EDAU used the output-based approach (OBA) with the medium-term
service contracts (MSC).31 However, under IDTR , the upfront payment required for
the SHS users was not able to reach to the poorest of the poor and additional
financial support was required. The EADU introduced a pilot pico-PV delivery to
the very poor population who could not afford to the subsidized SHS and
demonstrated the pilot success. Sustainability of the SHS and pico-PV was a
challenge in ensuring the long-term after-sales service, maintenance and

28 The IDTR originally was multisectoal nature including the information and
communication technologies (ICT) (i.e., cellular phones) and electrification, but the ICT was
mostly dropped due to the procurement issues, and the multisectoral approach including
two ministries were complicated (although at the time of preparation, multisectoral projects
were being supported by the Bank) (World Bank 2011).
29 Based on the 2012 data of IEA and World Bank 2015.
30 Based on the 2012 data of IEA and World Bank 2015.
31 Under this hybrid approach combining the fee for service approach and the dealer

approach, known as Medium Term Service Contracts (MCS), subsidies were provided in
return for obligations extending over a number of years to provide service and spare parts.
65
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

replacement after the end of the MSC the contracts were found to be too short for the
project period to have sufficient maintenance and service period. SHS supply under
IDTR was combined with improved cookstoves implemented by another
development agency. This collaboration was not designed at the project appraisal,
but resulted in improved incentive for households to adopt SHS and cookstoves
benefiting women (World Bank 2011b). The IDTR 2 was designed based on the
experiences of IDTR1 and EDAU, with much longer project period of seven years
than IDTR1 and EADU, which required closing date extensions for 3.5 years and
three years, respectively partly due to procurement delay and the learning
experience that the contractors would need to be familiar with the local situations.

2. Cambodia

World Bank was a major player in supporting Cambodia in grid integration and
capacity building of private off-grid rural electricity enterprises (REEs) and solar
home systems (SHS) in off-grid rural areas with rural electrification fund (REF) that
was introduced by World Bank Cambodia Rural Electrification and Transmission
Project (RETP, P064844, FY2004–12). These REEs emerged with their own private
funding due to the very limited grid extension after the civil war (1971–75) and the
Pol Pot regime (1975–79). RETP’s total off-grid connections included 62,093
households, of which 50,000 by REEs and 12,093 SHS. However, since 155 REEs had
been connected to the grid by the end of the project in January 2012 (World Bank
2012a), some of these 50,000 households with REEs connections might not be off-
grid anymore and grid connected. Around the time that the RETP started, licensed
rural consumers were 26,099 or 11 percent of total licensed consumers32. Around the
closing of the RETP, in 2011, the number of customers in isolated system was 100,832
or 12.4 percent of total licensed customers (EAC 2012), of which 62,093 (62 percent)
could be attributed to the RETP. In 2014, this customer number was reduced to
28,475 or 2 percent of total licensed customers, which was much less than RETP’s
off-grid household connections of total 62,093 (EAC 2015). Therefore, it was not clear
if this number include SHS because the RETP has installed 12,093 SHS and the after
the RETP, the REF installed another 4,000 SHS in 2014. This meant out of 28,475
household connections in isolated grid areas, 57 percent of households were using
SHS. Otherwise, many of the customers of isolated grid moved to on-grid from 2011
to 2014.

REEs’ daily service hours rose from four hours at the project appraisal to 12 hours
by the project closing, exceeded the RETP target of eight hours with 54 percent of

32
The 2003 Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) annual report (EAC 2003) did not have a
category of isolated system customer, but the rural consumer category appeared to be relevant to
isolate system customer.

66
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

REEs provided 24 hour service at the project closing (World Bank 2012a). Minigrids
system loss was 31 percent in 2003 (rural areas) (EAC 2004), and 19 percent in both
2011 and 2014 (EAC 2012 and 2015). An attractive tariff system by the Electricity
Authority of Cambodia (EAC) helped the development of the licensed REE model.
However REEs provided rather poor quality service (IED 2013). However, these
REEs’ services quality has improved and many of them provided power 24 hours
daily as of 2014 (EAC 2015).

The original design of SHS delivery mechanism of RETP was OBA subsidy but
similar to Bolivia IDTR experience, it was not affordable for the consumers to pay
that upfront cash. Therefore, it was changed to use the hire-purchase delivery
mechanism based on the World Bank Lao PDR Rural Electrification Project (REP) 1
and 2 and the RETP achieved SHS installation target accordingly. While the REEs
needed funding to upgrade the technical standards and revenue management
system that were consistent with those of the national grid that REEs could
interconnect and get integrated, the RETP’s REF did not provide this kind of
funding. After the RETP closure, the REF moved on to include additional programs
such as guarantee and loan for REEs to improve their infrastructure so that they
could upgrade their technical standards and revenue management and improve
other aspects of REEs, and a Power to Poor program similar to that supported by the
World Bank Lao REP 1 and 2.

As of February 2016, about 56 percent of households had access to electricity

(Cambodia Daily 2016). But neither the government-owned Electricité du Cambodge
(EDC) nor REEs had funding and capacity to electrify the rest of households to
achieve the national target of 70 percent electrification by 2030. Almost all off-grid
were diesel based generation and there was no specific government support and
enabling environment to promote renewable energy based off grids except SHS. The
decision to reduce grid supply tariff rates in 2015 further weakened the green
minigrid potential as renewable energy based minigrid could not compete with the
prevailing grid supply tariff. The government stopped approval of diesel minigrids
due to the increased disparity between the off-grid diesel tariff and the grid supply
tariff. Therefore, going forward, in addition to the existing renewable energy policy,
more specific legal, regulatory and institutional framework to promote renewable
energy would be needed.

3. China

The World Bank China Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP) (P046829,
FY1999–08) was successful in promoting the rapid growth of a sustainable off-grid
PV market in China, which focused on supply side quality and product
development with innovative performance- and output-based subsides and grants
that were cost shared by the subsidy recipients thereby ensured ownership. The

67
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

project could have achieved even higher sales volumes had there not been any
market inroads by highly subsidized government and donor PV projects (IEG 2010
and World Bank 2010a). More than 2 million people in western China were provided
electricity service through the project. The REDP installed PV capacity of
11.1megawattp, exceeded the target of 10megawatt. The total installed capacity of
PV in China was estimated to be 80megawattp at that time. Although the PV
systems could have turned over during the project years (that is, some users
abandoned or by new SHS, etc.), The REDP contributed an equivalent of
13.8 percent of the PV installed in China. The REDP provided some technical
assistance (TA) for the Chinese government’s renewable energy based off-grid
electrification programs, such as Brightness Program, etc. The Golden Sun Program
was started under the REDP and it supported the adoption of the Photovoltaic
Global Approval Program (PVGAP) program in China and its implementation. The
REDP’s Golden Sun Quality Mark was awarded to qualifying products and it
continued beyond the REDP until the market for off-grid solar declined due to
market saturation. The importance of solar quality and setting up quality standards
and testing protocols was initiated through the REDP. The REDP PV specifications
for off-grid PV components were eventually adopted as their national standards.
Beneficiary surveys of REDP PV users in selected provinces were positive in general
but energy stacking remained as they continues to use other fuels (for example,
kerosene, candle, ghee light and dry cells) as well as solar home system.

However, the REDP was not the only one that led to the leadership position that
China had in large-scale PV as of 2016.33 For example, some financing was available
even without the REDP support. At the mid term of the REDP implantation,
technology improvement (TI) companies under the REDP invested at least
$187 million (from their own resources or bank loans), which was over 12 times the
amount originally targeted by the REDP to finance (World Bank 2009). The PV
companies also succeeded in accessing private financing to support sales growth
and investments. After improvements in management, business skills and financial
systems, some companies received access to commercial bank credits and financial
support of other institutions. However, consumer financing remained difficult,
which was out of the scope of the REDP. While the overall Chinese both off- and on-
grid electrification was very successful, some studies on the government’s off-grid
electrification programs in western China found that the general top-down
approach lacked attention to users’ needs, quality of services, operation and
maintenance, which would affect the sustainability (Zhang and Kumar 2011, Shyu
2013 and Niez 2010).

33
This paragraph was based on emails by a former Bank staff Anil Cabraal.

68
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

4. India

The major World Bank Group’s support to off grids in India were Renewable Energy
Resources Development Project (P010410, FY1993–01); Second Madhya Pradesh
District Poverty Initiatives Project (P102331, MDPDPI2, FY2009–15), and
International Finance Corporation’s support to Husk Power Systems (HPS) which is
a microgrids company and a solar company Moser Baer India Ltd. (MBIL) (2007),
IFC/GEF Photovoltaic Market Transformation Initiative (PVMTI) (1998–2010)
supported solar companies Selco India, Eskom-Shell Solar Home Systems, Shri
Shakti, SREI Infrastructure Finance, Ltd, Total and others, and Applied Solar
Technologies. There was also a technical assistance (TA) for Scaling up Deployment
of Renewable Energy Technology for Promoting Business Models (P119894, FY2011–
16). Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (P097985, FY2010-) does not
promote off-grid but extends main grid to off-grid areas in Sagar Islands, where
Renewable Energy Resources Development Project financed off-grid solar PV village
electrification. Decentralized Energy Systems, India (DESI Power) won a grant the
World Bank Global Development Marketplace Competition 200634.

The Renewable Energy Resources Development Project’s examples of off-grid sub

projects were Solar Lantern Leasing Program by a Savings Cooperatives, Sagar
Island Solar PV Village Electrification, and Solar PV Irrigation Pumps Leasing
(World Bank 2002a). At the completion of the project, all these off grids sub
components had positive economic internal rate of return (EIRR) and financial
internal rate of return (FIRR) except the isolated solar PV power station in village,
which was negative EIRR unless the global environmental benefits were included.

The Renewable Energy Resources Development Project contributed to the

development of renewable energy both on-grid and off-grid and capacity building
of IREDA. Commercial market development in solar PV was evidenced by : (i) the
large private sector-led manufacturing base; (ii) a competitive market where product
costs were among the lowest in the world; (iii) retail sales and service networks; and
(iv) emerging participation of financial intermediaries. IREDA became a mature
financing institution for renewable energy and energy efficiency. IREDA encouraged
other lenders to support renewable energy projects, including bank and nonbank
institutions -- in 1993, there was no funding for this type of project. The government
has changed its approach to renewable energy development from state -
administered to market-driven. India started to export wind and PV technology.
International joint ventures were fostered by the project requirement for competition
in procurement. Marketing and service delivery business models that IREDA helped

Source: DESI Power website: http://www.desipower.com/downloads/2015/DESI-

34

Power-Company-Profile.pdf

69
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

launch included renewable energy service companies; consumer retails of renewable

energy products and services; private power developers selling to captive
consumers, third parties and to State Electricity Boards (SEBs); consumer financing
by rural banks, saving and trading cooperatives, etc. The project helped identify
innovative approaches to addressing rural credit risks faced by PV energy
entrepreneurs thus opening avenues for renewable energy supply to penetrate the
rural market. Participation of cooperatives or micro/rural financing entities was a
key to making the systems accessible to rural/poor consumers (World Bank 2002a
and 2002b).

IREDA promoted businesses owned by women and scheduled tribes and castes as
evidenced by several women-owned businesses ( for example, Dastkar Society for
Crafts and Craftpeople (Gujarat), solar lantern leasing by self-help groups (Andhra
Pradesh), Sagar Solar Shop (Vadodara), and Prakritik Lighting & Urja Systems Ltd.,
perhaps the first woman-owned PV module manufacturer) (World Bank 2002a).

The off-grid experience of this Renewable Energy Resources Development Project

found the following (World Bank 2002a and 2002b). Adequate time was requried to
develop innovative projects and the market for renewable energy. A specialized
financial institution such as IREDA was essential at the beginning as new
technologies were commercialized, but for market growth, broader participation by
the financial sector was essential. Affordable financing accessible to rural consumers
was essential for selling PV products in rural areas. Delivering rural PV services
needed a partnership between key actors: rural financing institutions,
product/service suppliers and organized consumer groups. Assessment of land
acquisition as well as payment of compensation needed be completed prior to
commencement of civil works to avoid delays in project implementation. The
renewable energy program needed to be consistent with and embedded into the
plan for power sector reform and restructuring. Supportive and predictable policies
and regulatory framework were essential for market development. Tariffs and
power sales rules needed to be fair to all parties for sustainable development of the
sector. Careful attention needed to be paid to maximizing energy output rather than
installed capacity. Regular review and rationalization of subsidy policy was
necessary (World Bank 2002b).

The PVMTI added value to the emerging Indian PV market through incubating
innovative firms and business models. As an example, PVMTI directly supported a
start-up entrepreneur through an investment in SREI, a nonbank financial
intermediary to address two key issues facing the Indian solar PV industry,
namely, the lack of after-sales services and maintenance activities, and the lack of
rural credit mechanisms. SREI became one of the world’s largest rural electrification
entrepreneurs as of 2010. The entrepreneur, Enviro Energy India Ltd. (EEIL),

70
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

received support from SREI to establish to establish a PV installation and service

business, eventually acquiring Shell Renewables India when it divested from rural
electrification projects in India and Sri Lanka. From the original hub in West Bengal,
EEIL expanded operations to Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkand and Orissa. As of 2010, the
business installed and serviced approximately 45,000 SHS (IFC 2010). Its experience
highlights the need for patience, particularly in a challenging solar PV market (IFC
2007). Selco, the first PV rural electricity installation and service provider in India,
was also supported by the PVMTI. With its focus on poorer segments of society and
quasi-commercial approach, Selco initially experienced many challenges relating
primarily to shortage of working capital, fluctuating market and PV equipment
supply constraints. The PVMTI helped the company through this tough phase by
restructuring and partially writing down the PVMTI loan and helped sort out bigger
corporate issues. The business attracted new equity to support its future business
growth of 2010.

The modest success of the PVMTI in India came from firms that had a preexisting
PV/renewable energy business dedicated to this line of business or one that creates
such a line rather than financial or other institutions who might have been offered
incentives to introduce PV financing or systems as a product or service (IFC 2010).
This success could be attributed, in large part, to the high population density in off-
grid areas, the existence of established solar PV companies, and the relatively
widespread knowledge about solar PV technology (IFC 2007).

Solar energy was one solution for the problem of erratic electricity supply in rural
areas that affected livelihood and education. The MPDPIP2 promoted the use of
solar energy for meeting household electricity needs through microgrids and multi-
utility centers in 81 and 42 villages respectively. Solar lanterns and solar mobile
stations were initiated in project districts. Solar lanterns were being used in 249
villages. (World Bank 2015g). A common solar charging station was developed and
a community member was trained to recharge the solar lamps provided to
villagers.35

IFC provided financing and advisoryadvisory support to HPS, that quickly scaled up
to serve 30,000 households, or about 200,000 people in four years with innovative
business model. Some highlights of HPS and DESI Power were discussed in the sub-
section 10. The microgrid and minigrid experiences in the private sector (with or
without any involvement of the World Bank Group) at the end of this appendix C).
Despite the policy support especially the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana
(DDUGJY) since 2014, the off-grid electrification, the coordination between off grids

An email from Raman Wadhwa Dy. Commissioner,(RD) Dy. CEO MPSRLM , Bhopal on
35

April 14, 2016.

71
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

and on grids process and the enabling environment for the private sector, are still
much to be improved. The inconsistent subsidy systems between the on-grid and
off-grid, which unfairly lower the on-grid electricity tariff with lower quality and
reliability, distort the market and consumer choice.

5. Lao People’s Democratic Republic

The World Bank played a major role in supporting the Lao government to promote
off-grid, especially SHS under the public-private partnership (PPP) and developing
and ensuring regular updates of the rural electrification master plan to include both
off-grid and on-grid. As of December 2013, 87 percent of the total households were
electrified in Lao PDR (Pillai, 2014). Out of these electrified households, about
2 percent or 18,872 households were electrified by renewable energy based / hybrid
off-grid systems, of which 13,000 were SHSs (Pillai, 2014). The World Bank installed
total 22,763 SHSs36 excluding the withdrawn SHSs under the World Bank Lao PDR
Southern Provinces Rural Electrification Project (SPRE) (P044973, FY1998–05), Rural
Electrification Phase I Project (REP1) of the Rural Electrification (APL) Program
(P075531, P080054, P119715, FY2006–12) and REP2 APL (P110978, P117177, FY2010–
15). Since some of these SHSs might have already been out of use, the estimated total
13,000 SHSs in Lao PDR in 2014 does not match the three projects’ contribution of
total 22,763 SHSs. The projects’ support to rural electrification master plan and
updates of the plan, which included both on-grid and off-grid had limited impacts
because actual electrification did not necessary follow the plan and some local
authorities were not aware of or followed the plan, which resulted in uncoordinated
off-grid and on-grid electrification that expanded more rapidly than expected.
Cream skimming and principal agent problems were experienced with the SHS
contractor Provincial Energy Service Companies (PESCOs). Going forward,
following would be needed: (i) improved incentives to PESCOs to target only poor
and other vulnerable people where the grid would not reach for the next 10 years or
so and improve the after-sales services and availability of spare and replacement
parts, (ii) buyback of withdrawal of reusable SHSs only; (iii) coordinated efforts with
other private players such as Sunlabob and other development partners to ensure
level playing fields and complementarity; (iv) improved sustainability of REF, (v)

36The Implementation Completion and Result Report (ICR) of REP1 noted that 5,000 SHS
purchased with Australian Government’s cofinancing under REP1 were being installed
under REP2 (World Bank 2013). REP2 ICR reported that the total number of SHSs to 11,758
but considering the funding from the Australian Agency for International Development for
5,000 SHSs from REP I, the effective prorated target achievement for IDA and local
contributions was 9,601 units or 96 percent (World Bank 2015). Hence, this reports included
11,758 SHS for REP2 since neither REP1 nor REP2 reported the SHS co-financed by
Australia.

72
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

ensuriing the regular updates of rural electrification master plan and the central and
local authorities follow the updates in planning and implementing off-grid and on-
grid access and (vi) development or improvement of the favorable policy, legal,
regulatory and institutional framework for off-grid promotion. These World Bank
projects hire-purchase scheme for SHS and Power to People scheme for grid
electrification were both adapted in the World Bank Rural Electrification and
Transmission Project in Cambodia.

6. Nepal
The World Bank Nepal Power Development Project (PDP) (P043311, P116190,
FY2003–14) was successful in Micro-Hydro Village Electrification (MHVE) that
66,174 households had electricity access under MHVE, slightly less the final revised
target of 74,000 but exceeded the original target of 30,000 (World Bank 2003a and
2014b). This meant within the total of about 1 million households with off-grid
access as of 2015, seven (7) percent of these households with off-grid access would
be the equivalent number of households under MHVE (World Bank 2003a, 2014b
and 2015; Government of Nepal 2012). The project’s restructurings and additional
financing allowed MHVE to scale up. This scaling up was not only due to the
successful implementation of MHVE itself, but also the PDP’s largest component
Power Development Fund (PDF) to provide long-term financing for private sector
small and medium-sized hydropower developments was scaled down and
eventually canceledcanceled. This was because (i) the long lead time was needed for
the PDP to facilitate private sector led development of Nepal’s hydropower
potential, (ii) the Kabeli-A hydropower plant, which was originally envisaged as the
first private sector small hydropower project financed by the PDF was supported by
the World Bank as a stand-alone intervention (World Bank 2008 and 2012), and (iii)
the political unrest -Maoist insurgency attacked large size commercial hydro
projects suitable for PDF and not microhydro suitable for MHVE (Sovacool et al.
2011).

MHVE’s success factors included (i) community involvement, (ii) capacity building,
(iii) special attention to women, (iii) income generation activities, (iii) simple
technology, (iv) de-politicization, (v) maintenance and after-sales service and (vi)
flexibility. Community-based microhydro projects required lots of capacity building,
as estimated MHVE’s 56 percent was spent on capacity development and
institutional strengthening, only 44 percent was spent on hardware (Sovacool et al.
2011).

However, communities did not fully use available electricity and used only for
lighting and energy stacking continued even for lighting by using kerosene, candle,
etc. and their priorities were not electricity. Social culture could exacerbate

73
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

inequalities, with in some cases those contributing labor during construction not
given access or an electricity connection (Sovacool et al. 2011).
Still market penetration is likely to be difficult in these areas due to low industrial
activity. The power plants located in remote locations in Nepal run at low plant
factor because of low demand for productive end uses. Lack of transport
infrastructure is one of the reasons why productive end uses are not so well
developed (Mainali and Silveira 2011; Sovacool et al. 2011; Rao, Agarwal, and Wood
2016).

Limited people were available for maintenance, after services and delivery of the
units, resulted in a large back log. MHVE suffered financially with no cost recovery,
uneven and unequal tariff, no meters, nonpayment, noncollections, etc. There was a
problem of donor dependency and lack of domestic financing, different donor
priorities – competition with other alternative energies such as solar, biogas, etc.
(Sovacool et al. 2011).

While Nepal achieved remarkable progress in off-grid electrification, coordination

with grid extension needs to be enhanced through planning future rural
electrification to avoid stranded off-grid assets when the grid is extended to the off-
grid areas (World Bank 2015a and 2015b). Energy crisis as a major constraint to
growth. The lack of grid-supplied electricity is a major barrier for Nepal to expand
access to quality electricity services, improve living standards, raise agriculture
productivity and incomes, and help its youth transit from farming to nonfarm
employment (World Bank 2015a and 2015b).

Subsidy policy 2000 promoted more installation of SHS and micro hydro. The
community contribution also increased. But there was a lack of credit and those very
few financial institutions that finance renewable energy suffered from bad debt and
nonperforming assets. Subsidy was also not efficient and effective due to high
transaction costs and did not really meet the needs. SHS was rather for the better off
people (Mainali and Silveira. 2011).

7. Tanzania

Tanzania Energy Development and Access Expansion Project (TEDAP) (P101645,

P092154, FY2008-) is one of the World Bank’s flagship projects in Tanzania and
included support to the first attempt in Tanzania for a larger-scale off-grid
electrification program, mobilizing and leveraging private sector resources and
promoting small-scale power projects. TEDAP scaled up its support to small power
producer component which included both off grids and on-grid with additional
financing in 2010. With combinations of its support to simplified regulations for
small power producers (SPPs), cost-sharing grants, credit lines (CL) and technical

74
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

assistance, the TEDAP promoted SPPs provide power to the isolated grid and main
grids of Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) and Rural Electrification
Agency’s capacity has also improved. Sustainable Solar Market Packages (SSMP)
was also a part of the World Bank/International Finance Corporation (IFC) Lighting
Africa Initiative (World Bank 2007). However, cream skimming and principal agent
problems were experienced due to the apparent lack of interest by the contractor on
the households solar PV sales as the potential profits for the base load business of
public facilities PV was sufficient. The contractor was qualified for the task of
designing and installing relatively large-scale PV systems (the project developer or
builder type) but had little competence or experience in the business of marketing
SHS (the vendor type). Unlike in the World Bank Philippines Rural Power Project
(RPP) (P066397, P113159, P072096, FY2004–13), the contractor did not partner with
established vendors. The products were unaffordable on cash-only basis to majority
of households. The contractor initially presented a consumer financing plan for their
products that would enable payments over time but never implemented it. Also, the
matching grant program allowed some of the inexperienced developers to initiate
the projects that have never been completed to the required standards to move
ahead to financial close.

The Bank is preparing a follow up project entitled Tanzania Rural Electrification

Expansion Project under the Program for Results (PforR) operation. In the off-grid
subsector, among the donor communities, the World Bank plays a leading role in
helping the Rural Energy Agency (REA) support private sector initiatives along with
support from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and
UK Department for International Development (DfID). The proposed PforR will
provide funding through a window in an existing CL developed under TEDAP for
the SPP development. A new, second window under the CL will be directed at
providing financing to vendors for the delivery of quality-certified solar products to
consumers in rural areas. A Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) will be set up to
ensure that the SPPs in operation and the ones expected to sign SPPAs with
TANESCO are paid on time (World Bank 2016a). IFC launched a $5 million program
to increase access to energy in Tanzania by developing a market for minigrids in
October 2015 (IFC 2015).

8. Timor-Leste

The World Bank Timor Leste Gas Seep Harvesting Project (GSHP) (P092055,
FY2007–12) was to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of harvesting
seep gas from natural gas seeps to produce reliable and affordable power for
isolated rural communities in the southeastern part of Timor-Leste. Replication
potential of demonstration project was perceived high as at least 30 gas seeps spread
throughout the country. However, during the implementation, the gas test revealed
an inadequate quantity of gas, which led to the project’s closure. The project

75
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

preparation did not have sufficient funding to conduct comprehensive feasibility

study and took a risk as this was a pilot. Even before this reveal, the government
ownership and interest in this project was declined due to the power development
and grid expansion as well as problems of conflict of jurisdiction between ministries
and state secretaries.

This GSHP demonstrated that even with a pilot project, technical risk and cost
estimates needed to be properly assessed and even if the probability of risk was low,
the magnitude of impacts if the risk materialized needed to be examined and
decision needed to be made accordingly. In pilots without lessons learned for a
specific type of project like this GSHP, lessons learned and the risk mitigation
measures should have been rigorously sought from the relevant industry.
Otherwise, there would be a waste of public resources of tax payers’ money of donor
countries. Establishing and maintaining effective communications with the client
country was extremely important to ensure (i) timely decision to change the course
of project when the client made a decision to expand the grids to the isolated areas
and (ii) justification of the donor finance. The GSHP was justified given the
(underestimated) low cost of pilot project and the cost to the rural poor without
sufficient electricity services was overwhelming. In fact, the GSHP was high risk and
high cost and some of the project deigns were premature, although the GSHP was
well intended to support the country.

9. Mali

The World Bank Mali Household Energy and Universal Access Project (HEUAP)
(P073036, P076440, FY2004–12)promoted isolated minigrids at the project closing on
June 30, 2012 with a cumulative number of about 74,787 connections exceeding the
target of 68,896 connections. As a result, Mali was perceived to the most successful
in promoting minigrids in Africa (RECP/EUEI PDF 2014). The Agency for the
Development of Domestic Energy and Rural Electrification (AMADER) is the central
authority for rural electrification. AMADER has incorporated a variety of regulatory
and policy reforms and measures, concessions and capital cost grants to support
successful deployment of over 160 stand-alone minigrids (70,000–80,000 customers),
serving an average of 500 connections each —perhaps the most of any Sub-Saharan
African country (Rai et al. 2015). In the early 2000s, a market for minigrids did not
yet exist in Mali (Rai et al. 2015). Mali’s Energy Sector Organization Law in 2000 set
the stage for minigrid market by: allowing private operators to supply electricity;
launching a rural electrification program; and eliminating the nationwide monopoly
of (Énergie de Mali (EDM) (Rai et al. 2015).

AMADER works with local governments and companies to submit proposals for
minigrids concessions and manage Rural Electrification Fund established in 2005

76
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

under HEUAP. The country has a coordinated program of support across Mali
agencies with World Bank and KfW, the World Bank projects included HEUAP and
Mali Rural Electrification Hybrid System Project (FY2014-; P131084) which has been
promoting a renewable-diesel hybrid minigrids (World Bank 2003c, 2013h, 2013i).
The primary driver behind the creation of AMADER was the World Bank, which,
based on its experience in other countries, recognized that creating a so-called one
stop government agency to regulate and grant funds to the rural electrification
sector was a “cleaner” and “easier to implement” approach than “assigning
regulatory responsibilities over isolated minigrids to the national electricity
regulator” (Tenenbaum et al. 2014).

HEUAP emphasized the cost recovery of operation and maintenance of minigrid,

Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) and helped strengthen technical
and managerial capacity building (World Bank 2003c and 2013i). The Mali
government has taken both a top-down and a bottom-up approach (bidirectional
approach) to encouraging private developers to build minigrids by providing two
separate routes to approval. Although the government has designated clear areas for
concessions, nearly all the developers chose the route of submitting unsolicited
proposals as that provided fewer administrative burdens than competitive
concessions. The program has been successful in attracting a wide range of minigrid
developments and providing increased energy services. The simplified institutional
framework, given full authority to AMADER, attracted the private sector interests
(Rai et al. 2015). Malian society is very entrepreneurial. The success of the bottom-up
approach was due to local private entrepreneurs’ interests in rural minigrids and the
local market (World Bank 2014). The decentralization of decision-making, financial
resources, and budgetary autonomy to local authorities changed the mind-set from
one of waiting for national-level action to one of stimulating local-level initiatives
(World Bank 2003c).

However, the electricity tariff in minigrids for households is higher than the tariff
for grid-connected customers, which caused “tariff envy,” leading to the rapid
extension of the national grid to seven minigrids sites located close to the national
utility’s concession area (Tenenbaum et al., 2014).

Mali’s privately run minigrid case highlights (i) Opening multiple avenues to solicit
projects from minigrid developers can jumpstart private investment; (ii) Partial
capital cost grants can support financial viability and sustainability of minigrid
projects; (iii) Designating a “one stop” agency to regulate and provide minigrid
grants can increase efficiency and make private sector engagement more attractive;
(iv) Allowing minigrid developers to set their own tariffs can support minigrid
deployment; and (v) Including support for hybridization of diesel-powered
minigrids can reduce their operating costs and thus lower their tariffs, which has

77
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

been supported by Mali Rural Electrification Hybrid System Project (FY2014-;

P131084).

Mali’s approach of allowing minigrid developers to set their own tariffs has enabled
the creative use of technology through several business models. For example,
‘Shared Solar’ has developed a pay-as-you-go model that allows customers to
purchase small amounts of electricity “on demand” by purchasing scratch cards
from local vendors and sending a text message with a single-use code to the network
operator. These minigrids have led to new local small businesses, a new local radio
station, and improved hospital services in some of the pilot villages (Harper 2013).
Columbia University’s Earth Institute has constructed a series of minigrids that
deploy prepaid meters and “smart controls” that limit overuse at the customer and
minigrid level to ensure a stable supply (CEM 2013).

Under HEUAP’s SHS promotion, private operators were not interested in adopting
as much as expected solar technologies and beneficiaries also wanted multiple uses
of energy services that were difficult to be provided by solar home systems. Hence
some of the allocated funding for SHS was canceledcanceled. Instead, this HEUAP
had a greater success in minigrids, which contributed to Mali to be most successful
in minigrids in Africa (World Bank. 2013i; RECP/EUEI PDF. 2014; Rai et al 2015)

HEUAP also supported multifunctional platforms, composed of a small 10 kilowatts

diesel engine coupled to a generator, that could be connected to income-generating
equipment, such as cereal grinding mills, battery charger, de-huskers, and water
pumps, or to generates electricity that can be distributed through a microgrid to
households (World Bank 2013i; Sovacool et al. 2013). A multifunctional platform is
installed in 81 communities, just shy of the target of 86 communities, covering
approximately 4,700 users. Women’s associations played an important role in
remote communities as providers of energy services (World Bank 2013i). The
communal model for managing the platforms, with active involvement of women’s
associations was not found workable, and the management of 61 platforms was
transferred to the private sector (World Bank 2013i).

10. Microgrid and minigrid experiences in the private sector and communities
(with or without any involvement of the World Bank Group)

Following examples of Indian private biomass minigrids IFC-financed HPS and a

World Bank Group grant recipient Decentralized Energy Systems (DESI Power) and
non-World Bank Group supported solar minigrids Gham Power, illustrate the
private sector’s strong focus on performance and financial viability.

78
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

The private sector is serious in market development, for example, by employing

market development specialist, and in payment collection, for example, by sending a
tariff collector daily. They are very strenuous in reducing theft but even with the use
of modern technology, theft and overuse are very difficult to capture and person-to-
person detection is still needed, a similar experience in Haiti by EarthPark
International, active in minigrid with smart prepaid meter, which still requires a
person to tackle theft (EarthPark International 2015). To scaling up minigrid
business, HPS uses franchising, which also could help the franchised agencies get
financing given the established brand (Bhattacharyya 2014 and Schnitzer et al 2014).

The private sector strives for using the resource efficiently. In some cases, the
biomass minigrid operator integrated the rice mill business to ensure business
viability and to internalize the symbiotic relationship with the power plant. Further,
the char obtained from burning the husk is used for incense stick making by women,
thereby monetizing the waste. Silica precipitation is sold for mixing with cement
(Bhattacharyya 2014). To meet investor expectations on the level of return on a
project, Gham Power has expanded its product offering more than just selling
electricity, selling basic services needed in that community, such as rice milling, a
dairy chilling center and telemedicine. Gham Power put an Internet connection on
all our systems for remote monitoring. Gham Power’s role often shifts into business
incubation where their staff is going to the community and sitting down with
community leaders, and asking things that have nothing to do with solar (IRENA
2015).

They employ women operators and conducting women empowerment and business
development activities to complement the arrival of electricity. They develop
income-generating activities, which requires significant time and resources as an
example of DESI Power giving loans to existing industries to convert their diesel
engine-driven loads to motor-driven loads, and employing a staff position that is
dedicated to assisting commercial customers to develop businesses and increase
electrical load. In most areas, however, especially village markets, electricity is not
necessarily linked in the minds of villagers to productive activities – just lighting
(Bhattacharyya 2014 and Schnitzer et al 2014).

Many private minigrid operators are still partially dependent on some form of
subsidy or grant, yet cannot serve the poorest of the poor for them to be
commercially viable.

Both public and private sector experience in minigrids in many countries ( for
example, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mali, Kenya, China, etc.) showed that the
community involvement was important but could interfere commercial practices,
independent regulation, and transparency due to adverse politicization, social
network, etc. (Schnitzer, et al. 2014; Ulsrud et al. 2011; Yadoo 2012; World Bank

79
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

2014a). A case study in Orissa in India found villagers did not want to dedicate the
time needed to collectively maintain the system that could never facilitate power for
income-generating activities (Schnitzer et al 2014).

In some cases, community-based minigrids were able to finance most of the working
capital. Non-Bank Mpeketoni Electricity Project (MEP), a community-based diesel-
powered microgrid system in rural Kenya during 1994–2007 demonstrated the
potential to cover a substantial proportion of the operating costs from internal
revenue derived from sales of electricity and other charges and a grain mill as an
income-generating activity to cover the operating deficit. At the time of the Kenya
Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) takeover of the microgrid in September 2007,
MEP had attained 94 percent cost recovery, nearly five times that realized by the
diesel-powered microgrids operated by the KPLC, the national utility. Through the
Rural Electrification Program (REP), KPLC installed a new and larger (250
megawatt) diesel-distributed generation system to supply power to Mpeketoni and
surrounding villages. Aside from receiving a 24-hour/ day power supply, the
government’s takeover resulted in considerable consumer surplus. This was
because, under REP, Mpeketoni customers obtained service at a highly cross-
subsidized rate of Ksh8/kilowattsh (US$0.11/kilowattsh) compared to
Ksh37/kilowattsh (US$0.53/kilowattsh), the rate MEP customers were willing to
pay at the time of the takeover. Conversely, this arrangement yielded a negative
producer surplus because the cost of diesel-powered supply by the KPLC
(Ksh39/kilowattsh or US$0.56) (Kirubi et al. 2007), which reduced the scarce public
funds and sustainability. Despite the extremely unreliable electricity supply, the use
of electric equipment by small and micro enterprises resulted in significant
improvement in productivity per worker ranging 100–200 percent depending on the
task and in a corresponding growth in income levels in the order of 20–70 percent,
depending on the product made. Access to electricity enabled and improved the
delivery of social and business services. It demonstrated that when local electricity
users had an ability to charge and enforce cost-reflective tariffs and when electricity
consumption was closely linked to productive uses that generate incomes, cost
recovery could be feasible (Kirubi et al. 2007).

In non-World Bank community-owned minigrids in Indonesian Borneo, three NGOs

with complementary roles collaborated to develop renewable energy minigrid
projects. Two international NGOs helped channel the financing for installing the
minigrids and offered technical expertise and community organizing skills. The
third NGO, a community association, focused on training people in the skills to
maintain the systems. After one year of operation, the NGOs handed over
ownership to the community. A village-level committee was then created to operate
and regulate the minigrid. The tariffs, decided by the community, were directed
toward a fund for operations and maintenance. Because these minigrids were not

80
 Appendix D: Off-Grid Electrification: Summaries of World Bank Group Experiences in
Selected Countries; and Other Private Sector Efforts

registered with the government, the only source of funding for repairs was what the
community pays in tariffs. When repair costs were too high, repairs were not made
(IRENA 2015). This issue was a common issue elsewhere, such as Malaysia
(Schnitzer et al. 2014)

Community PV systems in two primary schools and three health posts in rural areas
under the non-World Bank Malawi Community Rural Electrification and
Development (CRED) 2008–2011, in Chikwawa district in Malawi also demonstrated
its ability to cover working capital by providing mobile phone charging and cold
drink sales to communities as their supplementary income generation activities.
Selected and trained community energy committee encouraged community access,
regular maintenance, security, income generation and a logbook record of all
activities. A local fieldworker was hired and trained to support the energy
committees with further technical support in the main town (Frame et al. 2011).
Frame et al (2011) who examined the systems operations for the first 18 months,
noted that technically the systems trouble free expect one faulty charge controller,
which the energy committee reported to the fieldworker who in turn contacted the
supplier to replace this item, financed by the revenue generated by the committee
via the system. Funding of systems operations supported from income generation
activities on mobile phone charging and cold drink sales and well accounted
maintenance funds growing, income generation on track to allow battery
replacement for after four years. This project gained institutional support for the
community energy approach from the health and education authorities, and local
government’s formal support to the energy committee activities (Frame et al. 2011).

81
Appendix E: References for Appendix D
Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC). 2003. Report on Power Sector of the Kingdom of Cambodia for
the Year 2003. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Electricity Authority of Cambodia.
______. 2012. Report on Power Sector Of The Kingdom of Cambodia: 2012 Edition. Phnom Penh,
Cambodia: Electricity Authority of Cambodia.
______. 2015. Report on Power Sector of the Kingdom of Cambodia: 2015 Edition. Phnom Penh, Cambodia:
Electricity Authority of Cambodia.
Government of Nepal. 2012. National Population and Housing Census 2011 (National Report).
Kathmandu, Nepal: Central Bureau of Statistics.
Innovation Energie Développement (IED). 2013. Low Carbon Mini Grids: Identifying the Gaps;
Building the Evidence Base.” Support Study for DFID. Francheville, France: Innovation
Energie Développement.
Independent Evaluation Group (IEG). 2010. China Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP)
Implementation Completion and Results Report Review (ICRR). Washington, DC: World
Bank.
International Finance Corporation (IFC). 2010. “Photovoltaic Market Transformation Initiative
Terminal Evaluation.” https://www.thegef.org/gef/project_detail?projID=112
Laufer, M., and M. Schäfer. 2011. “The Implementation of Solar Home Systems as a Poverty
Reduction Strategy—A Case Study in Sri Lanka.” Energy for Sustainable Development 15: 330–
336.
Martinot, E. et al. 2001. “World Bank/GEF Solar Home System Projects: Experiences and Lessons
Learned 1993–2000.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 5: 39–57.
Parikh, Tej. 2016. “Officials Urge Investment in Energy Sector.” Cambodia Daily, February 25.
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/officials-urge-investment-in-energy-sector-108977/
Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme (RECP) / European Union Energy Initiative Partnership
Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF). 2014. Mini-Grid Policy Toolkit. Eschborn, Germany:
RECP/EUEI PDF.
Sovacool, B. K., Bambawale, M., Gippner, O., Dhakal, S. 2011. “Electrification in the Mountain
Kingdom: The implications of the Nepal Power Development Project (NPDP).” Energy for
Sustainable Development 15: 254–265.
Sovacool, B. K., Clarke, S., Johnson, K., Zoppo, D. 2013. “The Energy-Enterprise-Gender Nexus:
Lessons from the Multifunctional Platform (MFP) in Mali.” Renewable Energy 50: 115–125.
United Nations. 2011. A Vision Statement by Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Sustainable Energy for All. New York: United Nations.
Yadoo, Annabel. 2012. Delivery Models for Decentralised Rural Electrification: Case Studies in Nepal, Peru
and Kenya. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.
World Bank. 2002a. “India Renewable Resources Development Project. Implementation Completion
Report.” Report No. ICRR11300, World Bank, Washington, DC.
______. 2002b. India Renewable Resources Development Project. Implementation Completion Report
Review. World Bank.

82
 Appendix E: References for Appendix D

______. 2003. “Nepal: Power Development Project. Project Appraisal Document.” Report No. 23631-
NP, World Bank, Washington, DC.
______. 2009. “China Renewable Energy Development Project. Implementation Completion and
Results Report.” Report No. ICR0000880, World Bank, Washington, DC.
______. 2010. “China Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP) Project Performance
Assessment Report.” Report No. 54860, World Bank, Washington, DC.
______. 2011. “Bolivia Decentralized Infrastructure for Rural Transformation Project. Implementation
Completion and Results Report Review.” World Bank.
______. 2012a. Rural Electrification and Transmission Project. Implementation Completion and
Results Report. World Bank.
______. 2012b. Mongolia Renewable Energy and Rural Electrification Access Project. Implementation
Completion and Results Report. World Bank.
______. 2012c. Timor-Leste Gas Seep Harvesting Project. Implementation Completion and Results
Report. World Bank.
______. 2013a. Global Tracking Framework. World Bank Sustainability for All Program, Washington,
DC.
______. 2013b. Bangladesh Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development.
Implementation Completion and Results Report.
______. 2013c. Mali Household Energy and Universal Access Project Implementation Completion and
Results Report World Bank.
______. 2013d. Lao People’s Democratic Republic for A Rural Electrification Phase I Project of the
Rural Electrification (APL) Program. Implementation Completion and Results Report.
______, 2013e. Argentina: Renewable Energy in the Rural Market Project, Implementation
Completion and Results Report No. ICR1336, June 26, 2013.
______. 2014a. Nepal Power Development Project (P043311). Implementation Status and Results
Report. Seq No : 21 | ARCHIVED on 19-Jan-2014. World Bank.
______. 2014b. Mali Rural Electrification Hybrid System Project. Project Concept Note 131084:
Washington, DC: The World Bank.
______. 2014c. Bangladesh Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development II (RERED II)
Project (P131263). Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR). Sequence No: 27
ARCHIVED on 15-Dec-2014, ISR17369.
______. 2015a. Beyond Connections: Energy Access Redefined. Washington, DC. World Bank.
______. 2015b Nepal: Power Sector Reform and Sustainable Hydropower Development Project.
Project Appraisal Document. World Bank.
______. 2015c. Nepal: Scaling Up Electricity Access through Mini and Micro Hydropower
Applications. A strategic stock-taking and developing a future roadmap. World Bank.
______. 2015d. Lao 2014dPDR Rural Electrification Phase II Project Implementation Completion and
Results Report
______. 2015e. Bangladesh Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development II (RERED II)
Project (P131263). Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR). Sequence No: 29
ARCHIVED on 30-Dec-2015 | ISR21870

83
 Appendix E: References for Appendix D

______. 2015f. Second Madhya Pradesh District Poverty Initiatives Project. Implementation
Completion and Results Report. World Bank.
______. 2016a. Zambia Increased Access to Electricity Services Project Implementation Completion
and Results Report
______. 2016b. Bangladesh Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development II (RERED II)
Project (P131263). Draft Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR). Sequence No: 30,
May 2016.

84
The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20433