Access to Electricity program eases poverty: ABB

Do you know that a lack of basic infrastructure, for which electricity is a vital component, keeps nearly two billion people worldwide trapped in poverty? ABB’s Access to Electricity program is designed to promote sustainable economic, environmental and social development in poor communities and is yielding its first concrete results in a remote village in southern Tanzania.

Shedding light on ABB's Access to Electricity Program Energy is a basic requirement for improved quality of life and local economic development. This short video shows how access to electricity provides a wide range of benefits to remote communities, including a boost to small local businesses. More WBCSD videos on YouTube

The 1,800-strong village of Ngarambe, on the edge of the Selous National Park, has received electricity under ABB’s Access to Electricity program. Power from a diesel-fired generator is now lighting up the school, dispensary, local government office, mosque, small businesses on the main road and a number of homes. The electricity – which is cheaper and cleaner than the kerosene used until now - is on for four hours a day after dusk.

ABB, a leading supplier of power and automation technologies, and WWF, the global conservation organization, have teamed up to ensure the sustainable development of the village.

The program

The Access to Electricity program is much more than a rural electrification project. ABB works with other stakeholders – governments, companies, non-governmental organizations, aid agencies, civil society. Emphasis is placed on working with local authorities to establish villagers’ needs, and ensure that whatever is introduced – such as electricity – is affordable long-term.

ABB financed the installation of the mini-grid. The villagers contributed to lowering costs by building the generator house and digging trenches for power cables. The villagers decide, in consultation with the local authorities, how much they should – and can - pay for their power. A technical solution using current limiters ensures they do not exceed the amount of electricity they can afford.

The bottom line

The benefits of the Access to Electricity program for the local population are tangible:

• The local school now holds classes at night. The number of pupils has risen from 250 to 350.
• At the dispensary, the doctor can now also treat his patients at night and he intends to install a refrigerator for medicines.
• Local women no longer have to make the long climb to the sandy dunes to collect water from a well as there is now a water pump in the center of the village.
• The village plans to install a small sawmill, which will generate more income than what villagers currently earn from logging, and is studying the idea of automating the maize mill.
• Local stores and a teashop are able to stay open longer and provide cold drinks.

The key features of Access to Electricity so far are:

• Providing access to electricity to low-income communities;
• A bottom-up approach;
• A strong focus on affordability;
• Prioritizing the productive use of electricity in order to generate social and economic development;
• Engagement with local partners to build know-how and best practices both for the company and for the local partners;
• The company’s contribution of commercial and technical expertise, technical design, consultation, training and local knowledge.

The partnership

The partnership between ABB and WWF works on the local level between ABB in Tanzania

ABB focuses on the productive use of electricity in order to generate economic growth and social progress. Concretely, ABB supplied the generator, installed underground cables and low-voltage equipment, and trained local people to run the power supply. WWF provides guidance on issues ranging from reducing deforestation and sustainable forestry to health care and environmental education, their contribution to going further than just supplying electricity.

Expanding the program

Feasibility studies are under way to introduce a wind power installation to replace the generator. ABB and WWF are also looking to electrify a maize mill and a sawmill, add more homes to the mini-grid and expand the collaboration in Ngarambe and in surrounding areas including nearby villages in the Selous game reserve. They are also exploring similar projects in other parts of Tanzania. ABB is also working with other partners on World Bank-financed electrification projects in Senegal and Uganda.

Further information

• Download the complete case study ( 63 kb/ 532 kb)
• ABB
• WWF
• United Nations Global Compact

Author WBCSD Publication Date 31 Mar 2005 Document Type Case studies Issue/Topic Business Role/CSR Development Electricity Utilities Region Africa Country Tanzania Company ABB Ltd. Include In RSS WBCSD News & Updates		532 kb   63 kb