Bringing light, jobs and peace to rural communities in El Salvador : a final evaluation of the El Salvador rural electrification project (519-0358)

The project achieved and exceeded all of its outputs by wide margins. Savings in rural electric line extensions through innovative design methods resulted in increased resources which were redirected to TA, training, and other components. Impacts indicating broad-based economic growth include: 180,000 rural beneficiaries provided with electric service, which generated $79 million; $51 million generated by 12,000 microenterprises and 40,000 new jobs; 937,000 women-days saved through electric grist mills, and 30,000 additional garments produced per year due to electric sewing machines in women-operated cottage industries; $1,500 additional income per week for a total of 150 metal workers through more efficient electric sharpening of machetes, and savings of about 156,000 hours each year in grinding and mixing corn and mulch for cattle. The project also resulted in energy savings: 1,000 fewer MT of carbon emissions due to substitution of electricity for kerosene, candles, and firewood in cooking; 3,200 MT fewer carbon dioxide emissions through more efficient transformers and compressors for locally produced refrigerators; and 14,000 trees saved through innovative routing of electric lines. The Salvadoran Center for Energy Efficiency, a local NGO, was created to promote energy-efficient technologies. The project promoted democracy-building by providing electricity to local municipalities, community centers, and other public facilities, extending electricity to former conflictive regions as part of the Peace Accords, and supporting the development of the first two electric distribution cooperatives in El Salvador. Many elements of the project are sustainable; most notably, electric service will be sustained by consumer payments of electric bills. Local utilities have adopted new designs and standards, and 2,473 utility personnel have been trained in their use. Nonetheless, only 2 million of 3.5 million rural residents now have electricity. The following lessons were learned. (1) Flexibility in management allowed the project to redirect saved resources and respond to changing conditions, including the Peace Accords. (2) Through co-location with the counterpart, and joint productive uses, demonstrations, and objective site selection criteria, the project remained close to its beneficiaries. (3) The project demonstrated the importance of rural electrification to achieving USAID's strategic objectives of broad-based economic growth (including micro-enterprise development and poverty alleviation), environmental protection through reducing greenhouse effects, and democracy-building by strengthening local municipalities and promoting cooperatives and NGOs. (4) Rural electrification faces an uncertain future, with limited resources for infrastructure projects, privatization of utilities, and increased construction costs. Some ways to respond to these challenges are: placing more focus on rural communities for co-financing; using loans rather than grants; using lower-cost systems; and relying on NGOs to provide ongoing TA for rural electrification over many years. (Author abstract, modified)