NRECA utilizes funding from USAID’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP) to promote the electric co-op model as a proven system for delivering electricity services to rural areas of developing countries. NRECA’s CDP activities are designed to develop and support new and existing electric cooperatives through legal and regulatory reform, training and capacity building, and information and knowledge dissemination.

Information and Knowledge Dissemination

NRECA has developed comprehensive documentation of lessons learned and tool formulation for the design and implementation of successful rural electrification programs and projects. NRECA published the Guides for Electric Cooperative Development and Rural Electrification in 2009 as part of its effort to disseminate key findings and best practices with policy makers, practitioners and donor agencies. The publication is the culmination of years of research, analysis, program design, and project implementation in countries around the world.

NRECA will host a major conference on rural electrification, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and institutional development in 2010. The proposed conference will build upon and leverage the publication of the Guides for Electric Cooperative Development and Rural Electrification.

NRECA will continue productive collaboration with fellow Cooperative Development Organizations (CDOs) to document best practices in Cooperative Legal and Regulatory Reform (CLARITY) and Measurements for Tracking Indicators of Cooperative Success (METRICS).

Training and Capacity Building

NRECA uses CDP funding to provide training and capacity building to staff of national electrification agencies, cooperative utilities, and policy makers. Examples of the kind of training and capacity building programs that NRECA has implemented are provided below:

Developing and implementing a comprehensive plan to attract significant amounts of Philippine development bank debt to support the growth and development of the Rural Electrification Finance Corporation (REFC) in the Philippines.
Providing extensive training in all aspects of utility operations to personnel of the Yei Electric Cooperative in Southern Sudan. This is the first electric cooperative utility in Southern Sudan and can serve as an institutional model for efficient service.
Developing a comprehensive business and institutional development plan for the first electric cooperative in Yemen.

New Cooperative Development Initiatives

NRECA uses CDP funding to build key partnerships with Multilateral Development Banks, host government officials and other stakeholders in the realm of rural electrification and rural development. Under this program, NRECA has focused on development and support of new electric cooperative programs and utilities in several countries in Africa and the Middle East. In East and Central Africa, NRECA will continue to collaborate with donors and policy makers in several African countries regarding rural electrification institutional design and implementation. In Yemen, NRECA will continue to build upon its ongoing cooperative development efforts, with a focus on selection and development of cooperative personnel and systems for electric cooperative operation.