Independent Evaluation Group2012-05-292012-05-292008978-0-8213-7367-5https://hdl.handle.net/10986/6519It has long been claimed that rural electrification greatly improves the quality of life. Lighting alone brings benefits such as increased study time and improved study environment for school children, extended hours for small businesses, and greater security. But electrification brings more than light. It's second most common use is for television, which brings both entertainment and information. The people who live in rural areas greatly appreciate these benefits and are willing to pay for them at levels more than sufficient to cover the costs. However, the evaluation of these and other benefits, as well as of their distribution, has been sparse. This report reviews recent methodological advances made in measuring the benefits of rural electrification (RE) and commends them. It also notes that the understanding of the techniques shown in project documents is sometimes weak, and quality control for the economic analysis in project documents lacking. This study shows that willingness to pay for electricity is high, exceeding the long-run marginal cost of supply. Hence, in principle, RE investments can have good rates of return and be financially sustainable. But caveats are in order. The first caveat is that attention needs to be paid to ensuring least cost supply, including limiting system losses. Second, continued attention needs to be paid to achieving the right balance between financial sustainability and reaching the poor.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABSENCE OF CREDITACCESS TO ELECTRICITYACCESS TO ENERGYACCESS TO MODERN ENERGYAFFORDABILITYAGRICULTURAL RESEARCHALLOCATION OF FUNDSAPPROACHAVAILABILITYBALANCEBANK CONDITIONALITYBANK FINANCINGBANK LENDINGBANK LOANSBASIC NEEDBIOMASSBIOMASS ENERGYCAPACITY BUILDINGCAPITAL COSTCARBON DIOXIDECARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONSCITIESCLEAN WATERCLINICSCOMMUNESCOMMUNITIESCOMMUNITY DEMANDCOMMUNITY FACILITIESCONSUMER EDUCATIONCOOPERATIVESCOST DIFFERENTIALSCOST-EFFECTIVENESSCOUNTERFACTUALCREDIT MARKETSCROSS-SUBSIDIESDEBTDEBT RELIEFDEMAND CURVEDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCEDIESELDIESEL GENERATORSDISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITSDISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRICITYECONOMIC CRITERIAECONOMIC EFFICIENCYECONOMIES IN TRANSITIONEDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNSEFFICIENT ENERGY USEELECTRICITYELECTRICITY CONSUMPTIONELECTRICITY SERVICESELECTRICITY SUPPLYELECTRICITY TARIFFELECTRICITY UTILITIESELIGIBILITY CRITERIAEMPLOYMENTENERGY DEVELOPMENTENERGY EFFICIENCYENERGY SOURCESENERGY STRATEGYENERGY SUPPLYENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXPLOITATIONFAMILIESFEMALEFINANCESFINANCIAL BURDENFINANCIAL HEALTHFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL PERFORMANCEFINANCIAL REFORMSFINANCIAL SECTOR ASSESSMENTFINANCIAL SECTOR REFORMFINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITYFINANCIAL VIABILITYFIRST LOANFIRST LOANSFUELFUEL SWITCHINGFUELSGENDERGENDER ASPECTGENDER DIMENSIONSGENDER ISSUESGENDER POLICYGEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENTGRID CONNECTIONGRID CONNECTIONSGRID ELECTRICITYGRID ELECTRIFICATIONGRID EXPANSIONGRID EXTENSIONGRID INTEGRATIONGRID SYSTEMSHANDICRAFTSHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHOUSEHOLDSHOUSESHYDRO POWERHYDROELECTRIC PLANTHYDROELECTRIC POWERHYDROPOWERILLEGAL CONNECTIONSINSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERVENTIONSIRRIGATIONKEROSENELATIN AMERICANLENDERLINES OF CREDITLOANNEW COMMUNITIESNUTRITIONNUTRITION OUTCOMESPEAK DEMANDPHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGYPHOTOVOLTAIC] SYSTEMSPILOT PROJECTSPLANTATIONSPOORPOOR COMMUNITIESPOOR HOUSEHOLDSPOOR PEOPLEPOVERTY FOCUSPOVERTY IMPACTPOVERTY INCIDENCEPOVERTY LINEPOVERTY REDUCTIONPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGYPOWERPOWER DISTRIBUTIONPOWER GENERATIONPOWER PROJECTPOWER SECTORPOWER STATIONPRICE OF ELECTRICITYPRICE OF OILRATES OF RETURNREMOTE AREASREMOTE COMMUNITIESREMOTE LOCATIONSRENEWABLE ENERGYRENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIESREPAYMENTREPAYMENT PERIODSRESETTLEMENTRURALRURAL AREASRURAL COMMUNITIESRURAL DEVELOPMENTRURAL ELECTRIFICATIONRURAL ENERGYRURAL HOUSEHOLDSRURAL INCOMERURAL INCOME GENERATIONRURAL INCOMESRURAL INFRASTRUCTURERURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTRURAL POORRURAL POVERTYRURAL POVERTY ALLEVIATIONRURAL POWERRURAL TRANSFORMATIONRURAL VILLAGESSHOPSSMALL BUSINESSESSMALL TOWNSSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL FUNDSSOCIAL IMPACTSSOCIAL WELFARESOLAR ENERGYSOLAR HOME SYSTEMSOLAR HOME SYSTEMSSOLAR PANELSSOLAR POWERSUB-SAHARAN AFRICASUBSIDIARYSUBSIDIZATIONSUPPLY COSTSSUPPLY OF ELECTRICITYTARGETINGTARIFF LEVELSTARIFF STRUCTURESTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETHERMAL POWERTOWNSTRANSMISSION GRIDTRANSMISSION LINETRANSMISSION LINE LOSSESTRANSPORTURBAN AREASUTILITY COMPANYVILLAGEVILLAGESVOLTAGEWARWINDWIND POWERWOMANWorld Bank10.1596/978-0-8213-7367-5