Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Electricity access in rural areas of developing countries remains a challenge that requires designing and implementing electrification programs that ensure sustainability and affordability of the service for local households. In the case of Colombia, rural electrification programs show slow progress to achieve government goals of universal electricity access, especially in isolated rural areas of the country. This project provides an analysis of policy alternatives to increase private investment in electrification projects of isolated areas of Colombia where distributed generation solutions are required. Results from a case study prepared for a rural microgrid in Bojayá, Colombia, provide insights of the additional steps that the Colombian government could take to improve its rural electrification strategy. The findings of this project could optimize the public and private funding to bring affordable electricity to energy-deprived areas of the country.