Only 5 % of the rural population in Madagascar has electricity. Between 2008 and 2015, GRET led the rural electrification project Rhyviere (Hydroelectric village network: energy and environmental respect), which made it possible for 2,500 families living in 5 rural communes to access electricity. On the strength of this experience and the lessons learnt from it, Rhyviere II is replicating and complementing this approach:
- Via projects to create higher capacity hydroelectric power stations: with minimum capacity of 300 kW per station, to provide electricity to rural families and create a lever for economic development in zones of intervention.
- By developing a mechanism for communal planning of electricity requirements to identify decentralised electric solutions suitable for villages that are isolated from the main electricity supply network. The concession area of the licensee is extended in order to cover the entire territory in communes of intervention.
- By fully integrating environmental considerations into the project, in order to guarantee sustainability of the water resource and continuity of the service. Local stakeholders will be associated with the project to define methods of sharing the water resource and best agricultural practices in the watershed. Systems of Payments for environmental services (PSE) could be rolled out.
GRET is leading the project and ensuring its overall coordination. More specifically, it is steering the access to electricity aspect of the project (technical studies and monitoring of construction work on hydroelectric stations) and its environmental aspect. It is leading the project in partnership with three structures:
- Cite, a Malagasy NGO specialising in support for small businesses. Cite is in charge of identifying and supporting the creation of economic activities focusing on electricity;
- Enea Consulting, a French energy consulting firm. Enea coordinates studies conducted on the impacts of the project and the search for innovative funding solutions, including via carbon funding;
- The French Institute for Research and Development (IRD), a research centre specialising in development. The IRD supports and advises GRET on the environmental aspect of the project, especially on environmental diagnoses and co-construction of solutions to make the water resource sustainable.
Latest news from the Rhyviere II project:
Expected results
● At least 50,000 people in 8 municipalities benefit from access to electricity adapted to their needs. The solutions developed are renewable: hydroelectric network or decentralized solutions by solar or even wind power.
● Structured and supported income-generating activities based on the use of electricity have developed; small local entrepreneurs have adapted their activity and increased their income.
● The sustainability of the systems is ensured through the use of innovative financing, the establishment of appropriate pricing and the protection of water resources, in consultation with the populations.
● Governance of the rural electrification sector is improved by structuring and strengthening national and local actors in charge of the sector.
Description of services rendered:
- the institutional, technical and financial support of the actors of the sector (national and local authorities, population, private sector) in the development of 3 hydroelectric networks within the framework of public-private partnership, making it possible to supply electricity to more than 50,000 people in 8 communes of Madagascar. The service offered is complete: electrification of households, businesses, public services and establishment of public lighting networks in the municipalities of intervention;
- the selection of 3 delegatees within the framework of a public-private partnership: carrying out preliminary preliminary design studies and dimensioning of the networks (technical, socio-economic, environmental), preparation of complete tender documents (procurement documents, technical specifications, business plan, submission forms, etc.), publicity around the markets (identification of potential delegates, production of advertising spots for the marketing of the AO, organization of discussion meetings with interested candidates), evaluation of technical and financial offers, negotiation of selected delegatees, contractualization, mediation with banks for the financing of delegatee projects;
- the mobilization of Malagasy and international financial actors allowing delegatees to finance part of their investment through recourse to credit;
- support to delegatees for carrying out detailed preliminary design technical studies and final validation of network sizing;
- the selection of works companies and the follow-up of works in conjunction with the delegatees; monitoring the first months of operation of the networks, controlling pricing, carrying out customer satisfaction surveys;
- support for small local entrepreneurs to increase the economic benefits linked to the arrival of electricity: identification of promising activities, implementation of a credit solution for local entrepreneurs, training and support for the development or strengthening of local economic activities;
- carrying out environmental diagnostics to identify agricultural and soil use practices compatible with the sustainability of hydraulic resources (in quantity and quality);
- the implementation of a management plan for the watersheds jointly constructed with users and the authorities, and possibly the construction of PES-type devices.
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