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the flow

PAKISTAN:  EVOLUTION TO INCLUSIVE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

9/30/2019

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This quarter, HPNET has sought to shed light on the linkage between inclusive local social enterprise and mini-grid sustainability. Based on collective research and lessons-learned within the Network, it has become evident that local social enterprise is critical for sustaining hydro mini-grids over the long-term. Moreover, an inclusive, women-centric approach should be implemented in order to improve sustainability and maximize social impact. 

To facilitate a closer look at the far-reaching benefits of an inclusive, enterprise-based model, we reached out to Mr. Meherban Khan, Coordinator of Electric Utilities at the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme  (AKRSP) and HPNET's Board of Representative member for Pakistan.

Based in Pakistan, AKRSP is a project of the Aga Khan Foundation, which is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). In the following article, Meherban sheds light on AKRSP’s participatory, multi-faceted approach to development, providing insight into the Programme’s success in developing women-led social enterprise.

Overview

ARKSP’s work on hydropower began in 1986 with a research and demonstration programme that resulted in engagement in the hydropower sector in the 1990s with micro and mini hydropower plants (MHPs) between 25 and 300 kW providing electricity for lighting. The major focus of AKRSP’s MHP engagement was directed towards the peripheral off-grid areas of Chitral where the community demand had been greatest. Besides improved quality of life and health, and increasing savings with the MHPs, AKRSP targets poverty alleviation through the establishment of organizational, managerial and technical skills as well as through improving options to generate capital. Up to 2010, AKRSP had constructed 225 micro- and mini-hydro projects (177 in Chitral, 48 in Gilgit-Baltistan) with capacities up to 800 kW and a cumulative capacity of 16.4 MW. Out of the 177 units in Chitral, 147 are still functional. For its efforts in regard to community based MHPs, AKRSP has repeatedly gained international attention and awards. 

Chitral District in Northern Pakistan

District Chitral has the lowest population density of 25 people/ km2  in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK).  It is composed of a wide variety of ethnic groups. These include Chitrali (or Khowar), Pashtuns, and other ethno-religious minorities such as the Kalash. 

Chitral is the most linguistically diverse area of Pakistan and more than 10 languages are spoken in the district in 35 major valleys. About 35 % of the families live in Pacca (brick) houses of which some 30% have access to electricity and piped water, predominantly in the few main towns of the District.  90% of the population lives in rural settings with an average household of 8 persons.
Most of the population lives in the southern Union Councils where the natural conditions and the natural resources (forests, arable lands in the valleys, irrigation infrastructure) are the best. In the northern Union Councils and more mountainous valleys, natural resources are scarce and limited to vast shrub pastures and small plots in the valleys for agri-/horticulture.  In these areas, livestock including a few local sheep and goat breeds, is important for the subsistence households. But due to remote location and limited development interventions, opportunities for diversifying subsistence farming and linked livelihoods are almost negligible. This makes them extremely vulnerable to external stresses by natural hazards or socio-economic instability.

Evolution to Social Enterprise

Over time, the MH projects implemented by AKRSP have grown in size and impact. Initially,  systems were relatively small, providing electricity solely for lighting and small appliances, and often operating only for night-time use. Today, much larger systems are being implemented, with implications for community development that go beyond basic electrification. This development is the result of a decision to shift to a community enterprise approach.

The community-based mini hydropower utility companies (CBMHPUCs) can be understood as “community enterprises” with both commercial as well as social aims and objectives, i.e. “to create sustainable wealth for the community; and to create social benefit for the community”. This means to deliver fairly priced quality services in a sector that neither the public nor other private sector covers. In comparison to other models (e.g. trusts and co-operatives) the organizational functions and operating style are driven by business methods and practices. Furthermore, its regulatory and other reporting requirements are more robust. Thus they distinguish themselves from the otherwise rather informal operating patterns of community-based organizations or maintenance committees mostly applied in regard to micro and small MHPs. Nonetheless, the central feature of the CBMHPUCs set up by AKRSP remains the same as with other community-based organizations: they are basically owned and controlled by people who live in a defined locality, who constitute a community of interest and who, in this case, may share the rights over the water used for the electricity generation. 

The new approach of AKRSP for formation and regulation of the community based Utility Companies in Hydro power is to register with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) under Companies Ordinance (1984). The objective of the CBMHPUCs is “to establish a financially viable and sustainable hydro power business by providing affordable and reliable electricity with improved service quality and profitability”.

Three of the main CBMHPUCs designed with this new enterprise-based approach approach are CBMHPUC Yadgarh (800 kW), Shandur (500 kW) and Ozhor (500 kW). These plants have been operational since January 2017 and were designed to provide enterprise opportunities for small industries and to eradicate poverty. The CBMHPUC Yadgarh was initially planned to cover some 14 settlements, which by now has increased to 17, with some 1127 households or 8404 people to be serviced. The CBMHPUC Shandur covers three villages or 16 settlements and some 854 to 1161 households or around 6,043 people.12 CBMHPUC Ozhor covers some 21 settlements and 1200 households or 9208 people (see table 1). The electricity generated through the MHPs is distributed via village-scale mini-grids.


​Inclusive Ownership:  How it Works

The MHPs were established through hybrid financing, i.e. a combination of “donor model” and “cash model”. The costs for large parts (including the technology, T&D system) were covered by donor money – in the case of the CBMHPUC Yadgarh and CBMHPUC Shandur, from the Swiss Development Corporation (SDC), and in case of the CBMHPUC Ozhor from the PPAF. This was complemented by equity from AKRSP and the communities. Community households contributed between PKR 6000 and 9000 and the minimum contributions per community were set at PKR 10 Mil. for each project. With the transformation of the units into public limited companies, the initial investments of the community members were converted into shares and transferred on individual persons. The value of 1 share was set at 100 rupees.

Accordingly, the CBMHPUCs still follow the “cooperative model” in the sense that the community members (partially) own the MHP.  Now each CBMHPUC has between 1000 and 1600 shareholders from the community. 

Micro Hydro Success Cases

Case Study 1 - Electricity Utilization
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Ms. Amina Sher using electric cook stove. Credit: AKRSP
Ms. Amina, wife of Babu Sher,  listed electrical appliances in her household, explaining that“in my household we use electric oven, heater for cooking, electric geyser, iron and TV regularly using MHP Power”. 

Before the new MHP became operational Ms. Amina and her family were using electricity solely for lighting purposes, and were paying Rs.300 fix bill. But now they are using many electrical appliances and are paying the average Rs. 500 amount.  

In summer season Ms. Amina’s average monthly electricity bill is 250 while in winter season the bill goes up to 500 due to increased use of geyser. However this bill amount is negligible as compared to the electricity usage and facilities she is availing. Ms. Amina stated that “this electricity has saved our time and lessened our work burden, and has created ease particularly for women in the area”. To the question “how” she explained that whenever she wants to cook bread, she t urns on the oven, puts bread in for cooking and does other household work she has to do. When she comes back after completing other household work she finds ready bread in the oven. Secondly, due to electricity access Ms. Amina’s community has an opportunity for small scale business that was not available before. She explained that, overall, energy access improved their standard of living and reduced poverty. ​

Case Study 2 - The Blacksmith
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Blacksmith Muhammad Nasir. Credit: AKRSP
Thirty years old Muhammad Nasir is the eldest son in his family and is a resident of Raman Laspur. He is living with his father, mother, 3 brothers, a daughter and a son. His son is a student in CBS School in a playgroup class. 

His father is pensioner in Chitral Scout.is one younger brother is in the army and the other is in Chitral Scout. His youngest brother is doing labour work. 
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Before Muhammad was going to other districts for labour work, but when AKRSP started construction of MHP in the area, his father asked him to come home. When he came home, his father sent him to Gilgit to learn some skills; Muhammad got training on stove making, tool sharpening and welding. 

When the new MHP became operational he came to the village of Raman and opened a shop where he started welding, stove making and tool sharpening. Muhammad sells his one stove at Rs. 3500 and sharpens one tool at Rs. 50. He said “I feel very satisfied and happy about my profession and what my father has decided for me”.
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With his earnings, he buys all the raw materials like welding rods, sheet teen and coal for heating up different tools in forge. In the start he was using a manual method for blowing coals in the furnace, but now he has bought an electric blower and electric wheel sharpening stone. 
With his income, he also pays his son’s school fees and helps his father in buying food and other necessities. After deducting all the expenses, he is getting net profit of Rs. 8000. Muhammad is also providing job opportunities for the unemployed in this area. He said due to electricity access, our standard of living improved and we can see that poverty is reducing gradually. 

Social Inclusion

One of the basic rationales for rural electrification is that it enables households to switch from lower quality and especially from carbon-based fuels such as fossil and bio-fuels to electricity for various energy services. This switch is expected to generate a range of social, environmental and economic benefits, not least if the electricity stems from renewable energy sources. Essentially, benefits from rural electrification through renewable energy resources are obvious. Common links between (renewable) energy use and  components of poverty are beneficial effects on health, education, the environment and income. 

For example, the use of electricity may lead to health benefits, such as reduced exposure to hazardous pollutants and reduced air pollution; eliminating drudgery associated with collecting fire wood may improve the health condition, above all of women and children who most often carry out this task; access to electricity may enable vaccination and temperature-adequate medicine storage (through refrigerators). 

The use of electricity may also involve educational benefits, by reducing drudgery and thereby freeing up time for study: enhanced lighting can enable to studying at night; furthermore, electricity may also assist to narrow the digital divide through Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). 

Environmental benefits may encompass a reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels and biomass; reduced use of wood for fuel may lead to a mitigation of deforestation; application of renewable energy promotes climate protection.

Lastly, income benefits may mean, among others, increased productivity and profitability of agricultural methods leading to better farm/household revenues; enterprise development through electrification can create jobs; mechanization in industry can lead to higher productivity and lower consumption costs; small-scale energy systems in rural areas may generate local industry or enterprises; the use of more efficient electric appliances.  

Women-Centric Approach

The typical workload of women in the Chitral region is extreme. Apart from caring for the children and the households, they look after the animals and assist their husbands in crop husbandry. If collecting firewood is substituted by an electric oven women may save 1 h/day; if washing is electrified (eventually in a village bath and washing house) they may serve 1- 2 hrs/day; and if wool weaving is outsourced to a collective unit, they may save up to 3 hrs/day. With some electrical appliances in the households for cooking, for heating/cooling (which could be facilitated by some better insulation of 1 – 2 rooms or refrigerators) and for home maintenance, as well as collective ventures for women in washing and ironing, weaving or of processing of milk and gardening products etc. the women’s workload can be considerably reduced.Moreover, saved hours in the household could be used for improved education and socio-political activities (which AKRSP investigates & supports in MH projects).

Most importantly, women will receive equal benefit from the project in terms of dividend, they will be part of the governing body and involved in decision making (i.e tariff designing, investment plan, etc). In AKRSP supported projects, women are involved as investors, shareholders and owners of the plant.​
More information can be found in AKRSP's recently released video on micro hydropower in Chitral:

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Guest blog post written by Mr. Meherban Khan, Coordinator for Utility Companies - Hydro Power Development at Aga Khan Rural Support Program and HPNET Board of Representative member for Pakistan.

He can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].



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EARTH VOICES:  FROM TUBO, AN INDIGENOUS MICRO HYDRO COMMUNITY IN THE NORTHERN PHILIPPINES

9/27/2019

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​​We are excited to announce the launch of our new Earth Voices feature series!
PictureUN logo for International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Credit: UN
To commemorate International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples this quarter, marked annually on August 9 by the United Nations, we are introducing Earth Voices to spotlight indigenous micro hydropower (MH) communities across the region who are sustainably managing communal natural resources and successfully empowering themselves through energy access. 

​Indigenous communities of South and Southeast Asia are highly diverse, with unique traditions, languages, religious/spiritual beliefs and social structures. One commonality is the link between environmental conservation and indigenous heritage. Indigenous communities play a vital role in safeguarding the region’s rich biodiversity and forest ecosystems. They are often deeply reliant on ecosystem services, and carry an intricate understanding of local ecological relationships.

Due to traditional knowledge and customs around natural resource management, indigenous communities are uniquely positioned to effectively manage community-based energy systems, such as micro hydropower projects. In turn, MH has the potential to strengthen traditional environmental practices and social cohesion, thereby improving the resilience of indigenous communities.

TUBO VILLAGE

​To kickstart the series, we are featuring the indigenous community of Tubo, located in Barangai Kili of the Abra Province in the Philippines. We had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Jade Angngalao of SIBAT, who works closely with the community of Tubo. Jade shed light on the community’s unique governance structures and environmental customs, which have been strengthened with the implementation of a community-based MH system -- which in turn has supported Tubo in building climate resilience. ​
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COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE IN TUBO

Tubo is a municipality located in the mountainous Barangai Kili region of Abra, a Northern province of the Philippines. Residents belong to the Maeng tribe and speak the Maeng dialect. The local population is Catholic, but also uphold traditional indigenous rituals and beliefs; spirituality is an important part of everyday life in the community.

Central to Tubo’s governance structure is a Council of Elders, whose opinions are highly respected in the community. The Council is made up of both men and women elders, who play an equal role in decision-making and drafting policies. Municipal elections are held in Tubo, but for mostly perfunctory purposes, as the Council of Elders appoint leaders prior to official elections. The Council also has leverage over the local government, and has successfully influenced local representatives to implement social services, such as government-funded health care, in Tubo. 
​
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Tadok, gong celebration of the Maeng tribe, conducted after the burial of a family member so that "the spirit can leave her/his family happily". Credit: B. Bacala

​THE ROLE OF NATURE


Nature is deeply embedded in the Maeng’s traditional beliefs, and plays a significant role in everyday life. Agriculture is the community’s main source of livelihood, and is linked to many local customs, beliefs and festivities; for instance, harvest rituals are important within Maeng culture.

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Barangai Kili region of Abra. Credit: Google Maps
Spiritual beliefs about the natural world have been passed down through generations, and the Maeng’s interactions with the local ecosystem are informed by deep-rooted conservationist ontologies. The community upholds strong customary laws around watershed management; locally referred to as the ‘Lapat System’, these customary laws have, in fact, been institutionalized as government policy in Barangai Kili.​​​
​​MICRO HYDRO AND RAM PUMP SUCCESS STORY
Tubo’s microhydro system was installed 12 years ago, jointly funded by a missionary group and and the municipal government. The system has a capacity of 15 kW and provides power to 78 households.  SIBAT's Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology (CREATech) also supported the installation of a hydrualic ram pump to irrigate 10 hectares of rice fields, manufactured at CREATech.

SIBAT considers Tubo to be an “advanced” MH community because local actors have developed successful methods for sustainably operating and managing the system. A key factor in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the MHP has been the efforts of the Council of Elders to mobilize local youth to participate in the implementation and maintenance of the system.
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Credit: B. Bacala
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE & SELF-EMPOWERMENT

Five years ago, a hot spring resort was established in Tubo by a local people’s organisation, with the approval of the community, Council of Elders and the Barangay Local Government Unit. Led by the Kili Hydro Electric Power Association (KHEPA), the community wants to build new cottages for the resort to meet increasing demand, as well as extend the power from the MHP to two un-electrified sitios.
Tubo hot springs vicinity. Credit. B. Bacala
Eco-tourism facility in Tubo. Credit: B. Bacala
Tourist vicinity of Tubo village. Credit: B. Bacala
Together with profits from the resort, the MH has generated enough revenue through tariffs to support the expansion of the system. Thus, with the collected tariffs and some minor support from the municipal government, the community is currently expanding their MHP into a cascading system. A second powerhouse will be implemented upstream (such that the tailwater from the turbine goes to the old forebay), adding an additional 15 kW of capacity. This expansion has the potential to support other productive end use activities, in addition to the resort; sugar cane processing is being considered as potential MHP-powered enterprise.
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PRESERVING CULTURE & STRENGTHENING CLIMATE RESILIENCE
The people of Tubo have maximized the positive social and economic impact of their energy system; moreover, they have developed a sustainable management model which has ensured its long-term viability. The community’s strong governance structures and environmental stewardship practices have played a critical role in supporting the success and sustainability of the system.

A member of the Council of Elders aptly stated that “the true heart of the energy system lies in the watershed”. ​
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Typical start to a SIBAT field visit for micro hydro implementation: Meeting community leaders and local officials to discuss the purpose of the visit. Credit: B. Bacala
Indeed, watershed management plays a highly important role in MHP sustainability. Tubo’s strong customary laws around watershed management have therefore proven very valuable for the management of their system. Moreover, by incentivizing watershed protection and management, the MHP has, in turn, strengthened traditional customary laws and environmental stewardship practices. 

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J. Angngalao and Tubo youth show off their catch. Credit. B. Bacala
Customary laws for watershed protection (the 'Lapat System') exist all across the Philippines, but are not always practiced. By strengthening customary laws, community-based MH is helping to build climate resilience in rural, indigenous communities across the region.

The implementation of MH has also increased social cohesion and strengthened traditional tribal boundaries in Barangai Kili. This is significant, considering the increasing regularity of resource-based conflicts, caused by food insecurity. By reinforcing customary boundaries and laws, MH has helped to mitigate the threat of invasion from neighboring communities into the watershed area. Of course, by supporting watershed strengthening, MH also plays an important role in safeguarding increasingly scarce water resources, thereby building climate resilience and food security.

Jade explains of the photo (left), "
The fish that I hold are the fresh catch from that river. The river is rich of fish since Tubo is following the Lapat system." 

​DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MICRO HYDRO AND LARGE HYDRO

By enhancing social cohesion and incentivizing watershed strengthening, the impact of  small-scale hydro is quite the opposite of large hydro. The community of Tubo is working to preserve their MHP, and its many social and environmental benefits, resisting external plans to implement a large hydro dam. Large hydropower and other large energy infrastructure often displaces indigenous communities.  In Tubo, policies around customary watershed protection laws have so far mitigated the threat of resource development -- from both large hydro and geothermal. 

In addition to SIBAT's work on renewable energy, support is also expected to come from a newly established organization called RESILIENCE, founded by Ms. Victoria Lopez, retired executive director of SIBAT.  The main goal of RESILIENCE is to build climate resilience in indigenous communities by strengthening the Lapat.

Written by Lara Powell, HPNET Communications Coordinator
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WATCH:  WEBINAR ON HYDRO MINI-GRID SUSTAINABILITY

9/20/2019

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Did you miss our third quarterly webinar, Mini-Grid Sustainability: Transitioning to Social Enterprise for Energy and Economic Development?  You can now watch it below!
Over the last year, HPNET has shed light on the key factors for sustaining hydro mini-grids over the long-term. This webinar addressed the importance of social enterprise for ensuring mini-grid sustainability, featuring practitioners who are leading the transition from grant-dependent to enterprise-based hydro mini-grids. The speakers highlighted the potential for local social enterprise to support revenue-driven and equitable hydro mini-grids. 

The webinar presented:
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  • The linkage between enterprise-based approaches and long-lived hydro mini-grids;
  • Best practices to transition from grant-dependent to local social enterprise models, based on micro hydro experience in Nepal, Malaysia, and Indonesia;
  • Solutions to scale their efforts to more micro hydro communities, including how to make better use of funding resources that currently go toward grant-dependent projects.

Introducing SEEED

The webinar also introduced our new HPNET initiative: Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological, and Economic Development (SEEED). SEEED aims to support local practitioners and micro hydro communities in the transition to enterprise-based approaches.

The webinar supported an initial objective of SEEED, by identifying and highlighting the work of practitioners who are already paving the path toward long-lived mini-grids anchored in local social enterprise.
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Stay tuned for more information on SEEED, to be released in coming weeks!

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PT ENTEC TEAM VISITS TONIBUNG IN MALAYSIA

9/20/2019

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PictureHPNET Board members from Pt Entec Indonesia at CREATE in Sabah, Malaysia. Image credit: A. Lasimbang
​

Last week, HPNET members in Indonesia and Malaysia came together to share their micro hydropower expertise and support each other's important work in energy access. HPNET Board members Gerhard Fischer and Ardi Nugraha of PT Entec Indonesia visited the TONIBUNG team at CREATE in Sabah, Malaysia to provide input on turbine design and fabrication techniques.

TONIBUNG has pioneered community-based micro hydro in Malaysia, working in partnership with  remote, indigenous communities for over 25 years. Despite their ample experience and expertise, the team is always looking for opportunities to improve their techniques and expand their impact.

HPNET facilitated the start of the partnership between TONIBUNG and PT Entec, way back when, and the network has benefited immensely from the ongoing contributions of both organizations. It is great to see continuous knowledge exchange (often self-initiated, as in this case) between these long-standing HPNET Members.
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JOIN US:  SEPT. 17 WEBINAR ON MINI-GRID SUSTAINABILITY AND LOCAL SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

9/5/2019

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Join our webinar this month on mini-grid sustainability! 

MINI-GRID SUSTAINABILITY: 
​TRANSITIONING TO SOCIAL ENTERPRISE FOR ENERGY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
DATE:  TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019
TIME:  8 AM EDT / 2 PM CEST / 7 PM JAKARTA
REGISTER HERE
Collective research and hindsight within the Hydro Empowerment Network reveal that the long-term sustainability and impact of hydro mini-grids is dependent on how well the project is run as a viable and inclusive enterprise. This webinar – the 3rd in the series – will feature mini-grid practitioners in South and Southeast Asia who are leading the transition from grant-dependent to enterprise-based micro and mini hydropower projects.  The webinar will present:

  • The linkage between enterprise-based approaches and long-lived hydro mini-grids;
  • Best practices to transition from grant-dependent to local social enterprise models, based on micro hydro experience in Nepal, Malaysia, and Indonesia;
  • Solutions to scale their efforts to more micro hydro communities, including how to make better use of funding resources that currently go toward grant-dependent projects.

Presentations will be followed by a Q/A session open to all participants.   

​Learn more about our 2019 Mini-Grid Webinar Series, hosted by WISIONS and energypedia here!

WEBINAR BACKGROUND

​
​In contexts where small-scale, community-based hydro mini-grids have been scaled to thousands of communities, projects typically have been funded by grant or subsidy programs, e.g. Nepal and Indonesia.  The primary ownership and management structure in these projects has been user-based groups, e.g. village electrification committees (VECs), which can be inclusive but are challenged in achieving financial sustainability.  Most projects operate only for night-time use, although electricity is available 24 hours -- leading to minimal revenue generation.  Due to limited revenue, there is no savings.  So when repair and maintenance is required the VECs raise funds through door-to-door collection.  This is time intensive and a heavy burden for VEC leadership.
However, there are exceptions where scaled implementation of hydro mini-grids has occurred without grants and subsidies, e.g. Afghanistan and Myanmar.  In these cases, projects have been driven by enterprise development that has enabled revenue-generation sufficient for micro hydro O/M, repair, and capital costs in some projects.  Because the project have included self-financing, ownership and management structures have varied from VECs to cooperative-owned, developer-owned, and hybrid community-private models.  A common factor among the different model has been the presence of an entrepreneurial individual or organization.  This entrepreneur is keenly able to identify, establish, and incentivize productive end use -- often agri-processing -- which generates local economic value-add and ultimately runs the micro hydro as a sustainable enterprise.
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Peanut oil press in one of the 14 villages powered by a 200kW mini-hydro project in Shan State, Myanmar. Photo Credit: D. Vaghela
Over the last year HPNET has facilitated a closer look to understand the factors for sustaining hydro mini-grids over the long-term.  In comparing the above two scenarios it has become evident that:
  • Grant and subsidy dependent projects often lead to projects with poor load factors and therefore inadequate revenue generation to enable long-term financial sustainability.
  • Ownership models of grant-dependent projects tend to be inclusive but typically are not conducive for enterprise development -- simply because user-based groups funded by grants were not required to perceive the need or knowhow to establish financial sustainability.
  • While self-financed enterprise-driven projects have strong financial viability, they require more time to develop inclusive affordability and equitable benefits among factions of the community.
  • To achieve both revenue-driven and equitable hydro mini-grids, a transition is needed toward local social enterprise, bringing economic value-add to the mini-grid, village enterprises, local social services, and households.
  • A high impact end use for value-add of electricity is local agriculture and agri-processing; however tapping it requires energy practitioners to work with agri-value chain practitioners.

To support local practitioners and micro hydro communities in this transition, HPNET has established the initiative Social Enterprise for Energy and Economic Development (SEEED).  One of its initial objectives is to identify and highlight the work of practitioners who are already paving the path toward long-lived mini-grids anchored in local social enterprise.  This webinar helps to do so.

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SPEAKERS


​RESHA PIYA
WINROCK INTERNATIONAL 
​
Ms. Resha Piya is a Program Specialist at Winrock International, based in Nepal. She has more than 18 years’ experience in promoting and developing Renewable Energy sectors. She has extensive experience in the planning, design, implementation and providing technical backstopping, coordination, monitoring and the evaluation of various renewable and rural energy projects and water projects involving solar home systems, institutional solar home system, solar water pumping systems, mini/micro hydro power, biomass technologies and on the productive use of energy for enhancing sustainable rural livelihoods, economic growth and poverty reduction.  Ms. Piya has worked for Government of Nepal - Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) and its programs, Helvetas, Practical Action South Asia Regional office and Asian Development Bank. Ms. Piya is proficient in technical, administrative and managerial function and has a good knowledge and understanding of development issues. She is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer with MSc. in Renewable Energy and Master of Engineering in Energy and Environmental Management.

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AYU ABDULLAH
ENERGY ACTION PARTNERS

Ms. Ayu Abdullah is co-founder and Regional Director for Southeast Asia at Energy Action Partners, an international nonprofit organization that focuses on capacity building and community development through collaborative and sustainable energy access programs. Ayu has almost a decade of experience working as a researcher and practitioner in sustainable energy and community development. She was previously at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi working on energy access, energy transition, sustainable energy policy and sustainable development. She has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University, and a Master’s in Engineering Systems and Management from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.​

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ISKANDAR KUNTOADJI
IBEKA - INSTITUT BISNIS DAN EKONOMI KERAKYATAN
(PEOPLE CENTERED BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC INSTITUTE)

Mr. Iskandar Kuntoadji is the founder of IBEKA, the People Centered Business and Economic Institute, based in Indonesia.  A unique pioneer in people-centered development and social entrepreneur, Iskandar founded IBEKA, the recipient of the prestigious Ashden and Ramon Magsaysay Awards for its community micro hydro work in Indonesia. He has led micro hydro missions in Philippines and Rwanda, with the efforts of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Now IBEKA is a social business entity with a strong engineering background, using a mixture of appropriate technology and sociology to empower communities and marginal groups in urban area, not only to increase the welfare but also drive the community to be self-reliant and reach the economic freedom stage. Various renewable energy interventions are used as an entry point to organize the local community and nurture further empowerment programs, such as village coop extension, farming extension, house hold enterprise extension, small manufacturer, and local workshop extension. Iskandar also focuses on bringing young urban-based engineers up-to-speed on how their skills can contribute to community development work.
​

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​THEMATIC DISCUSSANT

​
DIPTI VAGHELA
​
HYDRO EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (HPNET) 

Ms. Dipti Vaghela is the co-founder and manager of the Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET), a south-south knowledge exchange platform that advances policy, technology, and socio-environmental aspects of small-scale hydropower across ten countries since established in 2013. Dipti brings sixteen years of experience in developing decentralized renewable energy solutions for rural electrification in S/SE Asia, bridging communities, local entrepreneurs, field-based NGOs, policy makers, and funding agencies. In 2016 she was awarded a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship, placed at the Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar (REAM). Based in Myanmar, she supports and learns from Myanmar’s indigenous micro/mini hydropower, biomass energy, PV-irrigation practitioners. Dipti holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from San Jose State University.
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MODERATOR
​

RANISHA BASNET
energypedia


Ms. Ranisha Basnet has more than 5 years of experience in knowledge management in the off-grid sector. She has worked with many national and international organizations to develop different knowledge products (webinars, database and knowledge portals) and also designed campaigns to raise awareness about the trending off-grid energy topics. Currently, she is writing her master thesis on “ Gender and Renewable Energy Mini Grids” and is attending the master program, Renewable Energy Engineering and Management at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

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