Dubung village is located in Baidi VDC, Tanahun District, central Nepal. The village enjoys year round-accessibility, with the journey more difficult in the rainy season.

• 147 households with population of 855.

• Multi-ethnic community with majority Magar and Khas-Chhetri, and also Dalit and Thakuri peoples.

• Current energy consumption largely based on firewood and kerosene.

Economic activities are based on agriculture and livestock, with a largely remittance based cash-flow.

BRIEFING NOTE Dubung, Nepal

DUBUNG VILLAGE THE 5P APPROACH

CURRENT STATUS UPDATE

ESCAP has partnered with AEPC (Alternative Energy Promotion Centre) and Saral Urja Nepal (SUN) to electrify Dubung village. Currently, construction of a 18 kW solar PV mini-grid is under way, with village electrification expected in mid-April. The mini-grid will be operated and maintained by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with a 60-40 stakeholder split, between SUN and the community respectively. Additionally, an enterprise assessment is being carried out in the village to aid in further identifying potential economic activities which will be enhanced through electrification. Along with this, a policy review for net-metering and Feed-in-Tariffs is being undertaken.

5P APProAchEnErgy SEcurity and WatEr rESourcES SEction

EnvironmEnt and dEvElopmEnt diviSion

EmAil: EscAP-Esdd-Ers@un.org

WEbsitE: unEscAP.org/5P

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has pioneered the Pro-Poor Public-Private Partnership (5P) approach, leveraging the strengths of government, the know-how and innovation of the private sector, with the development interests of communities, to undertake rural electrification projects. Under the 5P approach, the productive use of energy is considered an essential input for rural development. The project is designed to establish an energy utility through a public-private partnership in which the community is an integral co-owner of the utility, along with a private sector investor. 5P aims to prove that a community-based energy utility can deliver not only essential energy services but provide the community with a platform for long-term economic growth and development, and also demonstrate that rural electrification projects can provide modest long-term return on investments.

With few small businesses in Dubung Village, community members have shown a strong interest in the enterprise development potential of the 5P project. A majority responded favorably to starting a new business after electrification. Electricity gives

the villagers the opportunity to add value to current production, for example in the case for orange production, eco-tourism, mills, and establishing an electronic maintenance facility.