Publication - Lessons from Collective Action for the Local Governance of Mini-Grids for Pro-Poor Electricity Access
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In the current context, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) and national governments are actively developing policies around mini-grids and accelerating their deployment as part of rural electrification plans. There is, thus, an urgency to research and collate both practice and learning that ensures the long-term sustainability of these systems. While the technical and financial factors affecting the operational sustainability of rural mini-grids in developing countries are comparatively well-researched, the social and institutional aspects critical for longer-term sustainability are relatively under-researched and form the basis of this paper.
This briefing paper builds on studies of mini-grids in Kenya and in Bangladesh to illustrate the relevance of community governance in the deployment and management of DRE systems in underserved and off-grid regions of the Global South. Mini grids are highly dependent on community cooperation and good governance mechanisms to succeed. Understanding this role of local institutions is a pertinent challenge because, despite recent developments in the mini-grid sector, pro-poor, operationally sustainable and easily replicable approaches for mini-grid-based rural electrification remain difficult to find. This understanding holds considerable promise in connecting knowledge gained from both community-based and private-sector mini-grid operation.
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