Programme summary
•	Location: Southern Provinces Rural Electrification Project, Lao PDR
•	Installed to date: > 5 300 Solar Home Systems
•	Target: 150 000 SHS by 2020
•	System options: 20, 30, 40, 50 W
•	Installation fee: 15 to 25 USD
•	Monthly repayment: 1 to 5 USD
•	Effective subsidy: 18 to 38 %
•	Repayment rate: 96 %
•	Information: Anousak Phongsavath, MIH, E-mail: solarred@laotel.com

Laos is one of the least developed economies in Asia, and while the country generates 30 % more electricity than it uses, only 43 % of all households and as few as 30 % of rural homes currently have access to reliable electricity supplies.

The Lao government has, however, set ambitious targets to see 70 % of households electrified by 2010 and 90 % by 2020. Offgrid electrification systems, and solar PV in particular, are expected to meet 10 % of the national target, predominately in the less accessible rural areas of the country. Since 1999, the Lao Ministry of Handicrafts (MIH), with support from the World Bank and Global Environment Facility, has been piloting a programme for village off-grid electrification using Solar Home Systems and other village-scale generating sets. SPRE – The Southern Provinces Rural Electrification Project – has established Energy Service Companies (PESCOs) in five provinces.

The PESCOs train and administer a network of 130 Village Electricity Managers whose business is to deliver affordable energy services to rural households. Customers have a choice of solar home systems with varying repayments options. The fee, paid monthly over 5 or 10 years, is typically equivalent to what would have been spent on kerosene and batteries. Users are responsible for buying and replacing components other than the PV module, mount and battery charge controller.

MIH is currently initiating the second phase of the project, to extend the service to all 17 provinces and some 10 000 more households over the next three years. The ultimate target is 150 000 SHS by 2020, with a focus on supporting productive applications (e.g. home businesses) and ensuring customer satisfaction through service reliability.

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