Vanuatu: Improved Electricity Access

The objective for this activity was to increase sustainable access to formal grid-based electricity services within Vanuatu’s electricity concession service areas for low-income consumers through targeted subsidies. GPOBA support provided subsidization of connection charges in grid covered areas and purchase of stand-alone equipment in off-grid areas.

For the on-grid component, the scheme targets consumers within reach of the existing electricity grid networks on the islands of Efate, Espiritu Santo, Tanna and Malekula. It helped consumers overcome the financial barrier represented by high connection costs through a combination of one-off subsidies and extended period financing cost subsidies.

The off-grid component helped improve the affordability of solar home systems (SHS) for rural households with a subsidy towards the initial purchase cost and to improve the prospects of long-term sustainability of SHS with an incentive scheme to encourage households to save for maintenance, repair and replacement needs.