Rural electrification under liberal reforms: the case of Peru

Liberal reform programmes in developing countries were not designed with the need to extend electricity supplies to rural areas. This paper focuses on the Peruvian experience, examining the impact of electricity reform policies on the characteristics of rural electrification. In rural areas, electrification levels have traditionally been the lowest in the country – making them less or non-profitable for private firms. Only in 2002 did the government introduce a specific Rural Electrification Law, which was intended to promote electrification within the context of a liberalised market. This paper draws upon an analysis of both this piece of legislation and stakeholder interviews, indicating that there exists a need to look further into the evolving relationship between the private and public sectors and how it affects the rural poor. This study forms part of the RESURL international research project on renewable energy for sustainable rural livelihoods in developing countries, funded by the UK Government's Department for International Development (DfID).