Nowadays, around 1.2 billion people remain without access to electricity in rural areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In order to achieve universal access, a wide range of institutions must be involved in long-term rural electrification programs within a regional and national scope. In this context, the main objective of this research is to propose an evaluation methodology which aims to promote continual improvement of the programs underway, by undertaking the appropriate modifications in terms of their design and implementation. In this regard, a formative approach is sought, as the programs underway require from elements for continual improvement. In addition, a management perspective is also sought, as the results focus on program leaders for the implementation of suitable modifications, as and when needed. The proposed evaluation methodology considers 4 sustainability dimensions: environmental, technical, socioeconomic and institutional, in turn composed of 15 criteria that allow the design and implementation of the program to be analyzed in detail. The criteria are assessed by means of indicators dealing with the specific conditions of each program. As a case study, the Venezuelan program "Sowing Light" is taken as an empirical application of the proposed methodology. Launched in 2005, this program has been developed in three phases, reaching 900 rural communities to date, and is expected to benefit 2,020 more in the near future. Hence, the proposed evaluation methodology aims to provide useful results to compare RET-based electrification programs with conventional grid extension. Similarly, the methodology promotes continual improvement in favor of universal electricity access in rural communities in this country, as well as lessons learned that can be useful for the development of similar initiatives in other developing countries.

Nowadays, 84% of the world population without access to electricity is located in rural areas of developing countries. In particular, in the Andean countries, about 10.4 million people lack of access to electricity, mainly in isolated poor regions. Considering the relevance of electricity in overcoming poverty and promoting socioeconomic development, local-regional-national governments, supported by international organizations, are making efforts to achieve full rural electrification. In this regard, renewable microgrid projects are an effective alternative where the national grid extension has limitations. The literature on the design of such projects is significant. However, when evaluating experiences, most works focus on an analysis of projects’ performance from a technical and/or economical point of view. In contrast, very few literature has been reported on the comparison of such experiences from the perspective of the design process itself and how decisions are taken by project developers. In this article, five rural electrification experiences in Andean Countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) are reviewed, analyzing the decisions taken across the design process and showing the suitability of these technologies to extend access to electricity. In the target projects, first, a preliminary analysis is carried out to estimate the energy resources and demand. Next, the system is designed and implemented to meet the demand using the available resources. The five projects illustrate different options for the electrical generation (single, hybrid or combination of technologies), storage (battery or diesel backup) and distribution (microgrid or individual systems), as well as different methods for data gathering and systems design. In addition, a comparison of projects’ real behavior is carried out and their technical performance in terms of energy production and suitability of the technologies implemented is analyzed. These projects can be a good reference for the dissemination of such technologies in future projects in the Andean countries and abroad.Postprint (author's final draft

Nowadays, 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity, mainly in rural areas of developing countries. In particular, 22 million people do not have electricity in Latin America and many governments are developing rural electrification programs to deal with this situation. Off-grid hybrid microgrids based on renewable energy are an efficient option for providing dispersed rural populations with access to electricity. However, microgrids are still a minority option, as governments of developing countries generally consider them expensive and not effective. In this context, the evaluation of projects based on hybrid microgrids is required in order to improve the knowledge about these technologies. In this paper, 13 microgrid projects in north-western Venezuela are presented and their environmental, technical, socioeconomic and institutional dimensions of sustainability are evaluated. For this purpose, an evaluation methodology based on some ad hoc criteria is developed, assessed by means of technical visits, semi-structured interviews and 106 surveys of technical operators and beneficiaries. The results show that microgrids can satisfy the energy needs of the population, while promoting technological change towards the use of more sustainable technologies. In addition, the key aspects for strengthening projects' sustainability are highlighted.