$30 million will help improve the quality of life for its citizens through access to electricity services in rural and marginal urban areas

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $30 million loan with whichEcuador will increase and improve access to electricity in rural and marginal urban communities.

The loan is aimed at increasing the institutional capacity of electricity distribution companies (EDC’s) by training EDC staff in the selection and design of sustainable rural electrification projects, as well as financing the procurement of metering equipment, computer software and hardware for the execution units of each EDC involved in rural electrification with renewable energy.

The program’s main objective is to guarantee the increased coverage in rural and marginal areas, including geographically remote communities, as well as to encourage the use of selection methodologies aimed at promoting project sustainability.

The IDB loan has an amortization period of 20 years, a grace period of up to 11 years and an interest rate based on LIBOR. The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, supported by the National Electricity Board, is responsible for the project, which is part of Ecuador’s Program for Rural and Marginal-Urban Electrification.

This article was originally published in IDB’s Website, here.