Energy and Security Group

The Liberia Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) is an initiative undertaken by the International Resources Group (IRG) in November 2006, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  ESG joined the IRG team in March 2007.  The objectives of LEAP are to increase access to affordable energy services for all Liberians in order to foster economic, political, and social development; and to support transparent policy reform processes and energy sector regulatory regimes in order to create opportunities for public participation, to strengthen civil society, and to improve legislative and executive functions.  Complementary objectives are to foster community-based groups that may facilitate and support provision of electricity services in rural and peri-urban areas, while simultaneously promoting social cohesion.  LEAP was developed based on the principle that improving access to reliable electricity and other energy sources prompts restoration of essential services to the economy and society, and brings about economic opportunities for the unemployed.  At its inception, LEAP was composed of five tasks, which include the following:

• Task 1: Build Upon the Emergency Power Program (EPP) Reporting, Achievement and Other Support
• Task 2: Energy Sector Reform
• Task 3: Urban Community Development Pilots
• Task 4: Rural Community Development Pilots
• Task 5: Integrating Energy Services into Other Mission Programs
   

Liberia is classified as a least developed country with a dualistic economy.  From 1989 to 2003 the country was embroiled in a brutal civil war that claimed the lives of 270,000 Liberians and displaced a million others into refugee camps.  Much of the country’s previous development, which took place along the coast and in concession areas, was destroyed during the war, and recovery of the economy is stifled by the lack of basic social services and infrastructure.  Basic physical infrastructure, including almost all electrical distribution and piped water, except for a small area of Monrovia; road and rail ways; communications; and public buildings including schools, health centers, hospitals, government administration, and places of commerce were looted, gutted, and destroyed.  Liberia’s poverty rate is now among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, and the poor are primarily found in the rural areas (86%), where the majority of households (80%) are engaged in subsistence farming as their main source of livelihood, with little or no cash income.  This socioeconomic reality is exacerbated by the lack of sustainable, adequate, and affordable energy services.

ESG is supporting LEAP Tasks 4 and 5, which aim to alleviate the energy poverty in rural areas.    The objective of the tasks in 2007 was to design, implement, and assess at least two rural community energy projects that link provision of energy services to socioeconomic and productive activities; the second objective was to identify opportunities to increase the development impact of energy interventions, and implement cost-shared pilot projects with other USAID Mission Areas and donor programs.  Rural communities have been assessed to determine their energy needs and opportunities; communities were identified for the pilot projects and the systems designed; and a vendor selected for installation of the project equipment.  A rural health clinic, two learning resource centers, a youth center, ten micro-enterprises, a local NGO, and two schools are to receive PV systems of varying sizes, for basic lighting and electricity requirements; in addition, 31 street lights will be installed on school campuses and in project communities for increased safety and convenience of residents, and 60 solar lanterns will be distributed to health clinics, fishermen, a woman’s empowerment and literacy center, and other beneficiaries.  Installation is to be completed in late 2007.