Publications
A Survey of International Activities in Rural Energy Access and Electrification (UNDESA, December 2014)
The goal of this Survey is to highlight innovative policies that have been put into effect to stimulate electrification in rural areas of poor connection, as well as to present projects and progr more
Restoring Balance: Bangladesh's Rural Energy Realities (WBG, December 2009)
Rural energy’s importance to the Bangladesh economy cannot be underestimated. The problems rural people face in obtaining safe, clean, and reliable energy supplies are not minor inconveniences. People are cooking with biomass fuels including large amounts of leaves and grass that expose them harmful indoor air pollution. They light with kerosene or sometimes candles which give off a dim light that hampers studying and reading in the evening. Finally, rural productivity suffers because of lack of access to modern energy. However, the picture also is not all bleak. more
The energy access situation in developing countries: A review focusing on the LDCs and Sub-Saharan Africa (UNDP, December 2008)
A joint publication between UNDP and WHO, this report takes stock of the current energy access situation in developing countries. It covers a range of energy access data available from developing countries that is not currently accessible in one report and, at the same time, is also often neglected in global energy discussions. A broad range of energy access data is critical not only to understand countries’ energy access situation but also for developing policies and programmes that address energy poverty and for financing the expansion of access to modern energy services. Read more more
The Welfare Impact of Rural Electrification: A Reassessment of the Costs and Benefits (WBG, December 2007)
Rural electrification can have many benefits – not only bringing lighting, but improving the quality of health care, spreading information and supporting productive enterprises. The extent of these benefits has been questioned, arguing that they may be insufficient to justify the investment costs. This book quantifies these benefits. It finds that the benefits can indeed be high, substantially outweighing the costs, and that consumer willingness to pay is generally sufficient to achieve financial sustainability. more
Does Private Sector Participation Improve Performance in Electricity and Water Distribution? (WBG, December 2007)
Does Private Sector Participation Improve Performance in Electricity and Water Distribution? This question has proven deceptively difficult to answer in the context of utilities in developing economies. The authors examine the question of private versus public performance in a natural monopoly setting. They address the shortfalls of earlier research and arrive at fact-based conclusions that are robust globally. more