ABB's Access to Electricity rural electrification program was launched in 2002 as part of the company's contribution to common efforts, in line with its social policy. It is proving successful in raising social, environmental and economic standards in remote areas.
ABB extended its Access to Electricity programat the end of 2005 to Rajasthan in western India, following its successful launch in another remote location in southern Tanzania.
The project – based on public-private partnerships – has brought together ABB, the state government of Rajasthan and an NGO to provide power to desert hamlets. The program started with providing one hamlet with power generated by solar panels, and has been extended to several more hamlets covering 1,100 households covering more than 7,000 people .
The hamlets’ inhabitants who are mainly tailors and weavers can now work longer and earn more, and their children can also study at night. Health care facilities have also improved with the advent of electricity.
In ABB’s original Access to Electricity project in a village in Tanzania, electrification has led to economic, social and environmental gains in recent years.
Two dozen businesses, including a guest house, food stores and clothes shops have sprung up in the village, compared to three prior to electrification. Other recent advances include:
- 25 new homes underscoring economic gains and local immigration
- More homes connected to the mini-grid, based on the diesel generator donated by ABB, and a new water pump
- Children who are able to study after dark are passing school exams in increasing numbers
- Training on limiting hunting and sustainable logging
ABB partners with the global conservation organization WWF and local authorities in the project.