ideas and expectations are being transmitted. In these cases, it would be appropriate for the Ministry of Culture, or its equivalent, to be involved so no rules,
customs or traditions are being violated or misinterpreted.
6. Especially for hydroelectric projects of any scale, an integrated watershed
management vision ought to be implemented to ensure the well-being of the
entire watershed and that users of the lower watershed do not suffer negative
impacts of activities carried upstream.
7. Despite the poverty alleviation goals of many DRE projects, this objective is not
always achieved. In some cases, the poverty level of the beneficiaries hampers
the long-term sustainability of the projects. In the case of solar PV projects, users
are not always able to maintain and/or replace their batteries or other components. In the case of hydroelectric projects, the poorest families can not afford
the initial connection cost. Some of the case studies showed how this can
increase the inequality gap and leaves open the question if another aid program
will eventually provide the service for those unserved homes. Based on this,
governments might need to consider subsidizing the electricity service for the
poorest segment of the population to avoid increasing inequality in rural communities. Likewise, a subsidy for social services can also be considered. As seen
in the project of El Bote, rural schools can not benefit from the electricity service
because the parents can afford neither the connection nor the monthly bills and
the Ministry of Education rules indicate they can only cover the costs of schools
located in municipalities (Krause and Nordstr€ om 2004).
8. Some case studies pointed to one key element that is often times missing from
projects and which can prevent them from attaining the triple objective: monitoring and evaluation. In one of the programs evaluated, the ADIM PV project in
Guatemala, I was able to see the evolution of projects of one developer over
10 years and such lessons learned do exist.
I identified five main reasons why the projects did not meet the triple objective.
The first one is level of poverty as people are too poor to afford the service (in the
case of the hydroelectric plants) or save for operation and maintenance (in the case
of solar systems) and access to available capital becomes important, if not necessary, for system upkeep. Government schemes, such as the loan of solar systems in
Guatemala, seemed to work very well, except that the poorest people cannot afford
necessary battery replacement. Whether government or privately owned, an important factor is the inclusion of productive use applications that can help families gain
more income that could help maintain an available cash flow. The second reason is
inconsistency between users’ expectations and donor’s objectives. If users are not
happy; it can create conflict, leading to systems neglect. The third reason is lack of
community involvement: users were not satisfied mainly in those projects in which
community involvement was minimal or non-existent, as in the bigger projects with
funding from multilateral development entities or private sector. Based on the
different conceptions of community involvement, a recommendation is to gauge
with the community how they envision their role to be throughout the project.
Unreliable energy is the fourth reason: with multiple or constant blackouts, the
210
D. Ley
customs or traditions are being violated or misinterpreted.
6. Especially for hydroelectric projects of any scale, an integrated watershed
management vision ought to be implemented to ensure the well-being of the
entire watershed and that users of the lower watershed do not suffer negative
impacts of activities carried upstream.
7. Despite the poverty alleviation goals of many DRE projects, this objective is not
always achieved. In some cases, the poverty level of the beneficiaries hampers
the long-term sustainability of the projects. In the case of solar PV projects, users
are not always able to maintain and/or replace their batteries or other components. In the case of hydroelectric projects, the poorest families can not afford
the initial connection cost. Some of the case studies showed how this can
increase the inequality gap and leaves open the question if another aid program
will eventually provide the service for those unserved homes. Based on this,
governments might need to consider subsidizing the electricity service for the
poorest segment of the population to avoid increasing inequality in rural communities. Likewise, a subsidy for social services can also be considered. As seen
in the project of El Bote, rural schools can not benefit from the electricity service
because the parents can afford neither the connection nor the monthly bills and
the Ministry of Education rules indicate they can only cover the costs of schools
located in municipalities (Krause and Nordstr€ om 2004).
8. Some case studies pointed to one key element that is often times missing from
projects and which can prevent them from attaining the triple objective: monitoring and evaluation. In one of the programs evaluated, the ADIM PV project in
Guatemala, I was able to see the evolution of projects of one developer over
10 years and such lessons learned do exist.
I identified five main reasons why the projects did not meet the triple objective.
The first one is level of poverty as people are too poor to afford the service (in the
case of the hydroelectric plants) or save for operation and maintenance (in the case
of solar systems) and access to available capital becomes important, if not necessary, for system upkeep. Government schemes, such as the loan of solar systems in
Guatemala, seemed to work very well, except that the poorest people cannot afford
necessary battery replacement. Whether government or privately owned, an important factor is the inclusion of productive use applications that can help families gain
more income that could help maintain an available cash flow. The second reason is
inconsistency between users’ expectations and donor’s objectives. If users are not
happy; it can create conflict, leading to systems neglect. The third reason is lack of
community involvement: users were not satisfied mainly in those projects in which
community involvement was minimal or non-existent, as in the bigger projects with
funding from multilateral development entities or private sector. Based on the
different conceptions of community involvement, a recommendation is to gauge
with the community how they envision their role to be throughout the project.
Unreliable energy is the fourth reason: with multiple or constant blackouts, the
210
D. Ley