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Aga Khan Rural Support Programme Pakistan

Building community-managed mini hydro plants to deliver clean energy

  • Company
  • Energy
  • Pakistan
  • 2013
  • Exited

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 where people frequently use wood for cooking and heating, and kerosene for light. 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 clean, affordable, and reliable energy 24 hours a day.

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. 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.

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