Abstract

Decentralized, off-grid power supplies such as micro hydropower can be perceived as expensive investments by poor countries like Nepal. Can these investments be justified by the benefits that electricity brings to villages in remote mountainous regions? This book describes research into the development gains brought to such villages, measured in terms of progress towards achieving the millennium development goals. Indicators relating to income, education, gender equality, maternal and child health and environmental impact were measured in villages benefiting from micro hydropower, compared with neighbouring villages without an electricity supply. Decentralized Energy Access and the Millennium Development Goals provides conclusive evidence of these transformative benefits and recommends that Nepal, and countries like it, scale up investments in its microhydropower programme. Published in association with UNDP and AEP, Nepal.