Since 1962, NRECA International has developed dozens of rural electrification projects throughout Bolivia that have improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living in rural communities.  One of the very first projects that NRECA International undertook was the establishment of an electric cooperative in the department of Santa Cruz.  The Cooperativa de Eléctrificacion Rural (CRE) has over 300,000 consumer members and is now one of the largest rural electric cooperatives in the world.

From the start, NRECA International has provided technical assistance for rural electrification projects, including feasibility studies and selection, distribution system design and construction, utility personnel training and management and renewable energy technologies.

NRECA International continues to electrify rural communities in Bolivia through funding from USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program. NRECA International has implemented rural electrification projects throughout the territory of Bolivia, including the Departments of Potosí and Oruro in the altiplano, the area of The Yungas in the Department of La Paz, the valleys of the Departments of Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz, respectively and the plains of the Department of Beni.

Yungas Electrification Project Video

NRECA International and the Government of Bolivia celebrated the completion of Phase I of the USAID-funded Rural Electrification for the Alternative Development of the Yungas (READY) project, which seeks to provide key inputs and services, such as electricity and roads, to rural agricultural communities that renounce cultivation of illicit coca.

Equipment Needed for Bolivia Projects (PDF)