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Resource paper by Elizabeth Cecelski

ENABLING EQUITABLE ACCESS TO RURAL ELECTRIFICATION: CURRENT THINKING AND MAJOR ACTIVITIES IN ENERGY, POVERTY AND GENDER Briefing Paper prepared for a Brainstorming Meeting on Asia Alternative Energy Policy and Project Development Support: Emphasis on Poverty Alleviation and Women Asia Alternative Energy Unit The World Bank, Washington, DC 26-27 January 2000 Elizabeth Cecelski ececelski@t-online.de

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Gender and poverty challenges in widening access to electricity access in rural areas are arising in the context of renewed interest in rural electrification, especially renewable energy, as a tool both for sustainable energy development and for greater equity in rural areas. Poverty reduction and gender equality are now integral goals for all major development institutions. Energy assistance programs are seeking models and approaches to respond to these mandates. This paper reviews current thinking on energy, poverty and gender, with a focus on rural electrification and renewable energy, as an initial attempt to conceptualize linkages and needs in this area. Sustainable energy development and poverty Sustainable energy development (SED) has been defined as sustainability in economic, social and environmental terms. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are usually characterized as "win-win" options in SED, meeting the objectives both of environmental improvement and poverty alleviation (with economics being the principal challenge). However recent thinking emphasizes that choice in energy options is critical to meeting the needs of poor people, and that a variety of strategies and trade-offs will be necessary. Despite many efforts, rural energy poverty is still widespread. New approaches emphasize an explicit poverty focus, decentralization and participation, and the integration of energy efforts with other development sectors. New thinking on poverty: some energy implications New thinking on poverty broadens the definition of poverty to include Empowerment, Security and Opportunity. Important aspects include (a) learning from the poor, which shapes understanding and strategies; and (b) recognizing the importance of inter-sectoral policy instrument interactions. In the energy sector, inter-sectoral linkages are well-recognized as critical to ensuring impacts of e.g. rural electrification interventions. But the perspectives of Empowerment, Security and Opportunity have not been part of the normal professional or bureaucratic concerns of many of those involved in energy policy and practice. Linkages of energy strategies with this framework have been little explored. Energy is not widely recognized as a "basic need" in development circles, and working relationships between macro-economists/engineers, and other social scientists, have been slow to develop in the energy sector (in contrast to other sectors such as health and agriculture). Different "ways of thinking" are partly responsible: Poverty and gender thinking prioritizes people, while energy thinking often prioritizes other objectives such as efficiency, or environment. The few attempts to view energy primarily through a poverty optic are quite startling in challenging us to alter our perspective. Rural electrification, rural development and poverty There is no doubt that rural electrification typically benefits the non-poor more than the poor. In fact, like many other new technologies, it can increase inequities in rural areas. Nonetheless, there are clearly means by which access can be widened and the poor can more likely benefit. A number of recent studies point to "success factors" in widening access. A number of projects have applied these to target the poor, and in some cases women, and some documentation is becoming available. Given the rapid pace of developments in e.g. solar home system experience, there are many experiments that may offer new lessons even since the last review in 1995. Some promising directions for analysis and application are: appropriate tariff and connection policies, including, for decentralized systems, credit and leasing; the role of subsidies, and the impacts of restructuring of the power sector on subsidies and access. demand analysis, including using gender-disaggregated analysis; financing/institutional mechanisms, including micro-credit, RESCOs, community/NGO-based approaches, and private participation in small-scale infrastructure provision; productive uses of electricity, especially uses that may only be possible with decentralized systems; and institutional coordination of complementary infrastructure. Two key issues emerge from current thinking on rural electrification (or indeed energy generally) and the poor: What is the relationship between specific energy strategies and poverty reduction (as opposed to merely widening access)? Though anecdotal evidence is available, there are very few empirical studies that convincingly demonstrate a linkage, as there are in other sectors (e.g. health). What is the effect on the poor of privatization and market reform in the power sector? Experience in this area is relatively new. Unfortunately, many past studies of social impacts of energy interventions have failed to address gender issues or have addressed them only perfunctorily. Most likely gender will not automatically be included as a variable for analysis without a specific mandate. Energy, poverty and gender Over the last two decades, gender issues have attained increased prominence in the debate on sustainable energy development. International programs, such as ENERGIA, UNDP, NREL and Winrock, have helped to bring critical issues of gender equality and efficiency to the table (see Annex 1). Policy researchers and development practitioners have begun building a body of evidence and experience that links attention to gender in energy policy and projects to equitable, efficient and sustainable outcomes in development. A number of energy programs are starting to pay closer attention to gender and are launching important initiatives (e.g. ESMAP, UNDP/EAP). Despite these developments, the importance of bringing a gender perspective to energy policy analysis and design is still not widely understood, nor have the lessons for development been fully integrated by donors or national policy makers. While many are sympathetic, gender is still commonly viewed predominantly as a political agenda and given this, not central to questions of energy efficiency or project effectiveness. Current efforts on gender and energy focus on: building up a body of evidence and experience (conceptual, methodological, and case studies) linking attention to gender in energy policy and projects to equitable, efficient and sustainable outcomes in energy and development; advocacy in national and international arenas on the importance of bringing a gender perspective to policy analysis and design; capacity building, advice and assistance to energy programs, policy and projects in integrating a gender perspective; and creating networks and institutions at the national, regional and international levels to support these efforts at the practical and political level. There is a growing literature on energy and gender. Gender is also appearing increasingly in the mainstream energy publications mentioned earlier, though often as a separate topic not integrated with strategies and solutions. The focus in the literature is mainly on poor rural women, on wood energy, and on micro household and project level analysis. Some findings of this literature are included in 4. below. Project experience is also becoming available, though much is not yet documented. Some especially relevant initiatives and reports are described in Annexes 1 and 1-A to this report. Four of the key energy issues for poor rural women identified in the literature, in relation to rural electrification, include: data needs and analysis - disaggregation of energy use, supply and impacts by gender, in order to provide a better basis for applying well-known field methods and analytic tools for incorporating gender in project design and implementation, as well as at the micro- and macro- policy levels; wood energy, cooking and health - seeking integrated approaches and various solutions (including fossil fuels and perhaps electric cooking) that recognize the central importance of wood energy and cooking for poor women, and health implications; women's specific electricity needs in water pumping, agricultural processing, security, work productivity, and health - addressing these in the framework of sectoral development initiatives; and equal access to credit, extension, training to assure energy and electricity supplies for women's domestic tasks as well as their micro-enterprise activities. Findings and needs The findings above indicate the following needs: to document existing experiences in order to provide (a) empirical evidence of strong linkages between energy, poverty reduction and gender; and (b) examples of "best practices," models and approaches; to encourage a dialog and interaction between "ways of thinking" in energy, poverty and gender, as well as to create capacity to work in this interdisciplinary area; - to develop new approaches to integrating energy (including decentralised supply options) with other development sectors. Given the recent burst of interest and activities in this area, and the limited existing capacities available (experts and organizations, especially in the South), any initiatives will be well-advised to focus on capacity-building and to interact closely with other programs and establish partnerships with the various organizations now interested in energy, poverty reduction and gender equality.