Electrification Program Helps Boost Incomes in Rural Peru

In recent years, the Government of Peru has made remarkable strides in extending electricity service into rural areas. A 2007 census found that only 30 percent of rural households had access to electricity - one of the lowest rates in Latin America. Over the next four years, the government more than doubled this number through a multi-faceted national program spearheaded by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM). One component of Peru’s successful strategy was a United States (U.S.) 144 million dollars Rural Electrification Project. Launched in 2006 with U.S. 50 million dollars in World Bank financing and U.S. 10 million dollars from the global environment facility (GEF), the government-led project included an innovative program to help small rural enterprises take advantage of income generating opportunities afforded by the availability of electricity.