There are many valuable and well-utilized resources on power sector reform, energy access, utility operations and performance, customer behavior change, and other related topics. The following list highlights some of the most relevant training materials, presentations, guides, and reports currently available. If you have questions or would like to suggest other resources to add to the list, please contact the USAID Smart Utilities team.

Technical Note: Advancing Power Sectors’ Self-Reliance Through Electricity System Loss Reduction

Total transmission and distribution losses (T&D losses) are the canaries in the coal mines – they are the primary indicator by which you can quickly judge the financial and operational health of an electricity utility. This technical note provides a quick overview of how we define T&D loss, what this metric tells us, and how we can start to address the problem.

Employee HR Incentive Report (PDF 1MB)

Technology solutions and community engagement are often the interventions of choice to address non-technical losses, but such solutions can frequently be ineffective without appropriate employee programs to align reliable data gathering and employee decision-making with the needs of operational reform. Human resources (HR) incentive schemes can be a powerful tool to accelerate change and improve utility performance. This study provides development practitioners with an understanding of leading utility incentive practices and how these can be used to make resource-constrained power companies more commercially viable.

PPP Knowledge Lab – Power Sector Distribution

This web site describes the basic PPP models commonly used in the electricity distribution sector, along with a summary of the main challenges those models face and links to a number of case studies. PPP Knowledge Lab brings together the most relevant and authoritative resources on public-private partnerships in one location to empower governments and their advisors to design and deliver best in class infrastructure projects.

Switching On Power Sector Reform in India

A summary of a World Bank paper analyzing the positive impacts and shortcomings of power sector reform in India. This brief summary covers challenges related  to commercialization, public debt, poor sector governance, and power theft in India.

Reliable and affordable off-grid electricity services for the poor: lessons from the World Bank Group experience

A report on the rapid scale up of off-grid electrification (pico-solar products, individual solar home systems, and micro and mini-grids), in World Bank client countries. The focus is on experiences geared towards efficiently and effectively integrating off-grid electrification scale-up efforts with grid rollout – within a national roadmap for achieving universal access in a given time-frame.

Reforming Power Markets in Developing Countries: What Have We Learned? (PDF 1.3MB)

A paper, written by John Besant-Jones for the World Bank, providing a global look at energy sector reform and exploring important considerations of power market reform. Topics covered in-depth include enterprise restructuring, governance structures, regulation of power markets, access, affordability, and implementation of sector reform.

Power Sector Reform and Regulation in Africa (PDF 305KB)

A report, written by Joseph Kapika and Anton Eberhard for the Human Sciences Research Council, which chronicles the reform process in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia, and Ghana.

Deterring Corruption and Improving Governance in the Electricity Sector

A World Bank sourcebook that enables readers to understand corruption, assess risk, improve governance, and monitor implementation of electricity sector programs.

Energy For All: Financing Access for the Poor

An International Energy Agency policy paper on how to meet the global electricity supply gap and the policies and investments needed to achieve universal access by 2030

Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries (PDF 407KB)

An econometric assessment of the effects of privatization, competition, and regulation of the electricity sector in developing countries

Reducing Technical and Non-Technical Losses in the Power Sector (PDF 240KB)

A World Bank paper providing an overview of electricity sector losses, what their effects are, how they can be mitigated, and case studies of successful utility performance improvement and loss reduction programs in the developing world

The Causes and Impacts of Power Sector Circular Debt of Pakistan (PDF 813KB)

A USAID report analyzing how debt is passed through the Pakistani electricity sector, touching on technical and non-technical losses, subsidies, corruption, government interference and failed regulation

World Bank Data: SE4All Indicator Database

A database containing country-level data on significant, utility-specific indicators including access, system losses, metered connections, and consumption growth

Atlantic Council Global Energy Center: Transforming the Power Sector in Developing Countries (PDF 1MB)

A report that examines the challenge of meeting the electricity needs of developing countries in a clean, efficient, and affordable manner, and proposes a strategic framework for post-Paris action

MIT Energy Initiative: The Future of the Electric Grid

A report that aims to provide a comprehensive, objective portrait of the U.S. electric grid and to identify and analyze areas in which intelligent policy changes, focused research, and data development and sharing can contribute to meeting the challenges of the grid

MIT CEEPR: Electricity Services in a More Distributed Energy System (PDF 689KB)

A paper that defines and justifies the existence of a small set of primary electricity services that must exist in all power systems and regulatory contexts to allow for the power system to operate satisfactorily