Rural Electrification: Nothing Works Without Complementary Services –Anecdotal Evidence from Benin

摘要

It is widely accepted among rural energy experts and development practitioners that electrification activities in rural areas of developing countries should be accompanied by complementary services such as sensitisation campaigns, promotion of end-use applications, Business Development Services (BDS) and micro-financing (see e.g. Munasinghe 1988, Motta and Reiche 2001, IEA 2004:353). Nevertheless, rural electrification projects that confine themselves to hardware financing and civil works without undertaking escorting activities are observed frequently. Yet, energy infrastructure is not self-sufficient. This paper highlights the necessity of complementary services and commercialisation in order to reach access to modern energy services by reporting experiences made during the preparation of a grid based electrification project in rural Benin.