Barriers

Unfortunately, for as clear and urgent of a problem as rural electrification is, there are numerous barriers that are preventing an explicit solution:

Low income households inability to fund high costs
Lack of marginal income
Effective cost of energy is increased by additional cost of purchasing electric appliances
Low income/rural areas have relatively low densities of energy demand
Expanding networks to these areas is generally not viable without substantial subsidies
Where no network exists, alternatives, such as mini-grids or generators, are costly
Lack of education and training for energy technologies
Flexible, small scale financing and/or credit options aren't readily available
Lack of uniformity prevents facile solutions

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