Improving Reliability for Underserved Communities

The policy brief examines a pilot project in Mokoloki, Nigeria, where a privately owned solar minigrid shares existing distribution infrastructure with a utility to provide reliable power to 'undergrid' customers. It proposes that India, which faces similar challenges with high technical and commercial losses (up to 40%) and unreliable rural supply, could adopt this model to enhance last-mile service and financial viability for distribution companies.

• The 'undergrid minigrid' model in Mokoloki, Nigeria, allows a private solar minigrid developer to serve customers within a distribution company's territory by sharing existing distribution infrastructure in exchange for a small usage fee, rather than building redundant networks.
• Rural electrification in India and Nigeria faces significant reliability and financial hurdles; in India, distribution companies report aggregate technical and commercial losses of up to 40%, with approximately US$13 billion of electricity service remaining unbilled annually.
• Evidence from the Mokoloki pilot indicates that customers are willing to pay two to five times more than standard grid tariffs for electricity that is clean, reliable, and provides stable voltage and good customer support.
• For the undergrid model to be successful in India, the document suggests that state or national regulations must eliminate redundant networks and clearly define the mechanisms for minigrids to use existing distribution networks and trade power with the grid.

APA

RMI (2020). Improving Reliability for Underserved Communities. https://rmi.org/resources/improving-reliability-for-underserved-communities/

Chicago

RMI. Improving Reliability for Underserved Communities. 2020. https://rmi.org/resources/improving-reliability-for-underserved-communities/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Improving Reliability for Underserved Communities |date=14 August 2020 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/improving-reliability-for-underserved-communities/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2020improving, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Improving Reliability for Underserved Communities}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/improving-reliability-for-underserved-communities/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }