Institutional Arrangement

7.1 District Development Committee: Rural Energy Development Section (DDC: REDS)
The DDC : REDS is the authoritative district office for energy. It is under the umbrella of the DDC and it assists the latter on all matters related to the development of energy in the district. All energy related activities in the district, e.g. planning, implementing, linking and coordinating, and monitoring and evaluation are done through the DDC: REDS. In particular, DDC: REDS will have the following roles:

Information Disseminator: DDC: REDS will provide information to the local bodies on the planning process. They will be given orientation about how to carry out participatory energy planning and what are the options that are available.

Technology Promoter: DDC: REDS will provide information and support regarding hardware, technical specifications, training and methods related to appropriate rural energy technologies and their development.

Linkage Provider: DDC: REDS will link up the needs of the communities with technological, financial and other resources available with other institutions in Nepal.

7.2 REDP Central Office (REDP)
REDP supports the DDC: REDS in formulating strategies, guidelines, procedural formats regarding decentralized energy planning. It also closely supervises and monitors the implementation of the planning process to provide support to the DDC: REDS and to gather feedback for further refining the planning process.

7.3 District Energy Committee (DEC)
The DEC is a committee comprising of all energy related agencies in the district. The DDC Chairperson chairs this committee. The members are (1) Chairman, District Infrastructure Development Committee; (2) VDC Chairman (of the selected VDCs); (3) District Forest Officer; (4) Manager of the ADB/N; (5) Chief of the District Industry Office; and (6) the Local Development Officer. In districts supported by PDDP or LGP, the District Development Advisor will be a member as well. The DEA is the member secretary of the committee. Other members are identified as appropriate to the situation in the districts. It is the responsibility of the DDCs to mobilize the above mentioned government officials. The main function of the DEC is to coordinate energy development activities in the district, provide a forum for exchange of ideas and experiences and serve the energy planning committee under the DDC.

7.4 Support Organization (SO)
The SO, which is developed to carry out community mobilization in the district, mobilizes communities in which energy projects are to be implemented. Basing their activities in the six basic principles of the REDP Community Mobilization Process, the SO facilitates the community members to identify and plan energy projects in a participatory manner through community organizations and appropriate functional groups. It is envisaged that eventually the community organizations will be the building blocks for the bottom up energy planning process in the district.

7.5 Private Sector Organization (PSO)
The PSOs provides technical services to the COs and FGs for human resource development as well as fabrication, installation and repair of energy equipment and appliances.

7.6 District Energy Fund (DEF)
The DEF is a district level revolving fund for energy development. Cash for the fund will come from the DDC, VDCs, HMGN and donor agencies. Funding will be provided for energy production, distribution, end-uses and energy-based enterprise development.

7.7 Community Organization (CO)
CO serves as the basic unit of the energy planning process. Energy needs assessment done at the CO level in a participatory and transparent manner forms a strong basis for decentralized energy planning. For more details about COs, please refer to the REDP Community Mobilization Guidelines.

7.8 Functional Group (FG)
An FG is an organization made up of two or more COs to undertake a specific development activity. A community-based energy projects can be most effectively owned, implemented and managed by an energy functional group. For more information about FGs, please refer to the REDP Community Mobilization Guidelines.

7.9 Community Energy Fund (CEF)
The CEF is a community level revolving fund for energy development. An FG operates this fund. Cash for the fund will mainly come from tariff and/or other charges collected from the consumers. However, funds may also come from the DDC and VDCs (as investment) or from HMGN and donor agencies. The fund will be used for operation and maintenance, major maintenance, expansion of energy systems, loan repayment and dividend distribution