ACCIONA Microenergia Mexico has started the Centro Luz en Casa-Tecomaxtlahuaca to sell electric devices and offer other technical services in the Mixteca region, in substitution of the Customer Service Centre (CAU) of Juxtlahuaca.

Sebastian, who was an on-site operator of the Luz en Casa Oaxaca Programme due to his intimate knowledge of the operation area in the Mixteca as well as his higher education in renewable energy, is in charge of this Centro Luz en Casa (CLC). After being trained by ACCIONA Microenergia Mexico technically, entrepreneurially and managerially, he explained that this is an entrepreneurial opportunity to open his small business on alternative energy, as well as this represents a professional and family growth.

This is the first step to evolve from the network of Customer Service Centres, which are supported by the Municipalities and the Government of the State, to a network of local entrepreneurships. With this aim ACCIONA Microenergia Mexico, like ACCIONA Microenergia Peru developing the Centros Luz en Casa in Cajamarca, is expected to identify, select and train technically and entrepreneurially professionals, design the micro franchise model, select, evaluate and supply electric devices to sell in the CLCs, and develop and accompany micro franchisees to start the CLCs.

As a result, six ‘Centros Luz en Casa’ will be operating in Oaxaca under ACCIONA Microenergia Mexico monitoring. They will be in charge of local entrepreneurs trained to run their businesses under an ACCIONA Microenergia Mexico franchise. The aim is to guarantee the technical sustainability of the Third Generation Solar Home Systems (3GSHS) by offering affordable, quality, 3GSHS-compatible high-energy-efficient devices and repair & technical advice services.

The evolution from CAU to CLC tries both to develop inclusive businesses that generate profit for low-income families and provide a strong electricity delivery model. This is economically sustainable for off-grid electrification of remote rural communities, and is based on third generation photovoltaic systems that have significant advantages due to their easy use, low weight, long lifetime and being environmentally friendly. By comparison with other solutions, these systems allow reduce both the electrification cost per home and the implementation period.

ACCIONA Microenergia and the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are included in the 2030 Agenda, a 15-year plan of action that favours the people, the planet and the prosperity. There are 17 SDG which are integrated and indivisible and that comprise the three dimensions of the Development: economic, social and environmental.

The rural electrification programmes of the ACCIONA Microenergia foundation impact on those three dimensions, and directly on the SDG 7, Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

With the arrival of the ‘Centros Luz en Casa’ to Oaxaca, the SDG 8, Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, is impacted too: this centres will be owned, under a micro franchise model, by local entrepreneurs who will have been trained technically, entrepreneurially and managerially so as to sell electric devices and offer other technical services as independent professionals, in strategic locations for the Luz en Casa Oaxaca users, and thus generate income for their families.

ACCIONA Microenergia Mexico

It is a non-profit association that was created by the ACCIONA Microenergia foundation to facilitate access to electricity to isolated rural communities, which are not included in the national grid extension of Mexico. During the last five years, ACCIONA Microenergia Mexico has developed the 'Luz en Casa Oaxaca' programme under a public-private partnership with the Government of the State of Oaxaca and the Spanish and Mexican Agencies for International Development Cooperation.