NRECA International has extensive experience in developing national electrification plans, including the design and creation of national rural electrification agencies in several countries. In Bangladesh, NRECA International has assisted the Rural Electrification Board in developing and coordinating a nationwide rural electrification program that is one of the most successful in all of Asia. With NRECA International’s continued assistance over the past 25 years, REB has designed and energized 70 rural electric cooperatives that provide service to over 35 million people.

In the Philippines NRECA International assisted in the development of the Rural Electrification Act, which was adopted to give guidance to the National Electrification Administration (NEA). NRECA International served as the principal technical and institutional consultant to NEA under a long‑term agreement for implementation of a national rural electrification program that now has 120 electric cooperatives which provide electric service to nearly 20 million people.

NRECA International has also developed national rural electrification plans for Peru, Panama, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, among others.

Most national rural electrification plans include the following:

• Program design,
• Institutional framework,
• Existing system assessment,
• Construction standards,
• Preliminary technical due diligence,
• Pilot project identification,
• Rural electrification program financing, etc.

NRECA International utilizes GIS technology as a key input into national rural electrification planning and financing. The development of a GIS allows the project team to geographically reference the existing transmission and distribution system and is often the most effective and efficient way to determine the adequate mix of grid and off-grid solutions to provide electricity access to non-electrified areas.

NRECA International recently completed a National Rural Electrification Strategy Study for the Government of Yemen. The project, which was financed by the World Bank, included

• Development of a comprehensive GIS of the national grid and off-grid electric systems,
• Definition of distinct rural utility service territories,
• Assessment of institutional options for design and management of a national rural electrification program, and
• Development of a pilot project to demonstrate the effectiveness of a cooperative approach to utility management and operation in a rural context.

NRECA International recently completed the Phase I Report. Over 20 prospective rural electric cooperative service territories were mapped out, each based on a commercial utility-scale undertaking, consolidating both grid-connected and off-grid electric infrastructure and services.