The Challenge

The rugged, mountainous Northern areas and Chitral region of Pakistan support approximately 1.3 million people, who mostly live in poverty with limited or no access to electricity. The government has no plans to expand the national grid to these areas.

People frequently use wood for cooking and heating and kerosene, which is expensive and highly damaging to health and the environment, as a lighting source. Households typically spend 30% of their income on these energy sources.

The Innovation

Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) is a pioneer in community-based development approaches in Pakistan. AKRSP builds locally-managed mini hydro plants throughout the Chitral district. The community-owned and -operated plants generate electricity 24 hours a day that is clean, affordable and reliable.

The Impact

Acumen’s investment in AKRSP supports the construction and management of four mini hydro plants with a combined capacity of 2.4 MW. Clean, reliable energy reduces the amount of income households must spend on energy needs while improving health and education outcomes.

These four plants directly impact the lives of 40,000, adding to AKRSP’s ability to scale their project to bring clean energy and improved livelihoods to all 1.3 million people the region.