The Welfare Impact of Rural Electrification : A Reassessment of the Costs and Benefits

Independent Evaluation Group

Washington, DC : World Bank

关键词: ABSENCE OF CREDIT;    ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY;    ACCESS TO ENERGY;    ACCESS TO MODERN ENERGY;    AFFORDABILITY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-7367-5
RP-ID  :  45400

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

It has long been claimed that ruralelectrification greatly improves the quality of life.Lighting alone brings benefits such as increased study timeand improved study environment for school children, extendedhours for small businesses, and greater security. Butelectrification brings more than light. It's secondmost common use is for television, which brings bothentertainment and information. The people who live in ruralareas greatly appreciate these benefits and are willing topay for them at levels more than sufficient to cover thecosts. However, the evaluation of these and other benefits,as well as of their distribution, has been sparse. Thisreport reviews recent methodological advances made inmeasuring the benefits of rural electrification (RE) andcommends them. It also notes that the understanding of thetechniques shown in project documents is sometimes weak, andquality control for the economic analysis in projectdocuments lacking. This study shows that willingness to payfor electricity is high, exceeding the long-run marginalcost of supply. Hence, in principle, RE investments can havegood rates of return and be financially sustainable. Butcaveats are in order. The first caveat is that attentionneeds to be paid to ensuring least cost supply, includinglimiting system losses. Second, continued attention needs tobe paid to achieving the right balance between financialsustainability and reaching the poor.