Increasing private investment is critical to meeting the growing energy needs in developing countries. Foreign direct investment (FDI) can contribute significantly-by bridging the financing gap but also by facilitating knowledge and technology transfer. A key factor impeding the ability of...

The challenge for the development community is to exploit the links between energy and poverty to combat global poverty. The human scale of this challenge is huge. Today, 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity and 2.4 billion rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating. Indoor air...

The objective of the note is to inform the governments policy thinking by identifying the principal challenges that the power sector faces and outlining solutions for overcoming them. The note also discusses some broader energy sector issues related to the gas tariff structure and demand. The...

The energy sector plays a significant role in the overall economy of Azerbaijan, as in other transition countries, and the World Bank's experience suggests that without energy sector reform and financial viability the transition process is much more difficult and delayed. The objective of this...

This Energy Sector Policy Note is intended to support the Government of Mozambique in determining priorities for policy decisions with the aim of delivering efficiently produced, technically and financially sustainable electricity supply to the Mozambican population. To support the development...

This Policy Note is based on the Final Report of the Environmental Energy Review (EER), prepared over two years, with the full collaboration of the Government of Iran, and the assistance of international, and national consultants. The EER report comprises: an analysis of the current situation...

The main objective of this sector work (ESW) is to provide the World Bank and the Government of Togo with a sound basis and proposals for decision-making about the main electricity sub-sector issues facing the country. The ESW therefore assesses the key challenges facing the sub-sector and...

Over the past decade, the Iranian electricity sector's ability to supply reliable service has come under increasing pressure. This is evidenced by more frequent gas supply constraints to generation plants, high levels of debt and increasing losses in the network. The key roots of the problems in...

This paper develops a number of approaches to power sector planning that respond to the uncertainties that Afghanistan faces. It aims to provide an alternative to the "predict then act" approach to planning, which will allow more robust decision making. The paper is divided into two parts: the...

The cost of energy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as elsewhere, is an important policy issue, as shown by the concerns for energy affordability during the past harsh winter. Governments try to moderate the burden of energy expenditures that is experienced by households through subsidies to...