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PUBLISHEDJune 11 2009
AUTHOR(S)Andrew Barnett, Elizabeth Cecelski, Amitav Rath
Session 15: An Energy Subsidy Clinic: How to Design and Improve Access Subsidies

The “Subsidy Matrix” was presented as a simple new tool for policy makers and practitioners in charge of designing or improving access subsidies. The matrix approach applies a systematic process to identify all relevant options for the subsidy set-up in a given local context and compare their probable effects on subsidy performance. The basic idea is to visualize the causalities between (A) nine categories of “subsidy design variables” which policy makers can influence (Subsidy Objective; Funding; Institutional Setup; Recipient & Beneficiaries; Type; Selection Criteria & Competition; Amount & Exit; Regulation; and Monitoring & Adjustments) and (B) seven “pragmatic subsidy performance criteria” (Effectiveness; Efficiency; Sustainability; Resilience; Private Sector Participation; Transparency; and Politics). The matrix can be used (i) in a step-by-step process to identify weaknesses of existing or planned subsidy mechanisms (the participants decided to immediately try out this process in an impromptu afternoon session with encouraging results - see Group Work Report 3.3.); (ii) as a training, decision-making or mediation tool for stakeholders of national electrification programs; and (iii) for the production of quantitative score cards to benchmark the performance of subsidy programs.

Africa Electrification Initiative Workshop

Summary

Session1: Grid Extension

Session 2: Offgrid Business Models

Session 3: Hybrid Electrification Models

Session 4: Rural Electrification Agency and Rural Electrification Fund

Session 5: Grid Intensification, Innovation and Cost

Session 6: Offgrid Technology and Lighting Africa

Session 7: Can Master Plans Work?

Session 8: Pro Access Regulation

Session 9: Monitoring and Evaluation

Session 10: Enhancing Impact

Session 11: Financing and Subsidies for Utilities

Session 12: Financing (and subsidies) for Small Providers and Renewable Energy

Session 13: User Financing via Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) and Utility Bills

Session 14: Institutional and Financial Aspects of a Rural Electrification Experience: Tunisia

Session 15: An Energy Subsidy Clinic: How to Design and Improve Access Subsidies

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