National Programme of Rural Electrification -- "Light on the Countryside"

Project BRA/00/015 -- Start Year: 2000; Approved Budget: US$3,468,208; End Year: 2003; Implementing Agent: NEX (National Execution Related Projects); Executing Agent: Eletrobrás.

Project background and rationale:In Brazil, approximately 22% of the population lives in the countryside, while this area produces only 6% of the GNP. This low productivity, as well as the lower quality of life enjoyed in the countryside compared to the urban areas, is partly due to the low rate of rural electrification, which is limited by the high level of investments required and by the low initial return in terms of level of consumption of electric energy for productive reasons. Hence, an intervention of the government through public financing is needed to overcome these initial difficulties, in order to foster the development of the rural area and limit the rural exodus, which exerts social pressure on the big cities.

Project development goal:The project BRA/00/015 "Light on the Countryside" aims at bringing electric energy to 1.000.000 rural houses and properties, to the benefit of approximately 5.000.000 Brazilians living in the countryside.

Project immediate objectives and expected outputs: Its immediate objective is to establish an infrastructure (human, technical, physical and financial resources) that would enable ELETROBRÁS (Brazilian Electric Company) to fulfill its commitments related to the management of the National Programme of Electrification of the Rural Areas, in particular for what concerns the provision of technological, administrative and financial support to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, to the Concessionaires of Electric Energy and to the Electrification Cooperatives of the Rural Areas.

Contact details:Eletrobras, Av. Marechal Floriano, 19 - 4o. andar, CEP 20.080-003 Rio de Janeiro/RJ