Photo: Beneficiaries of the Luz en Casa programme are trained to install solar home systems in their households.

In Peru, acciona.org has been providing basic access to electricity with solar home systems for 14 years to isolated households in remote communities that live in poverty and have not access to the service by conventional means.

One of acciona.org's milestones in Peru in 2022 is the beginning of its activity in isolated communities in the department of Cusco. After consolidating the rural electrification programmes of Luz en Casa and Luz en Casa Amazonia, in the departments of Cajamarca and Loreto, we have brought solar home systems for the first time to provide access to affordable, reliable and sustainable basic electricity service to families in remote areas of Cusco, benefiting 500 new households in the districts of Echerati, Vilcabamba, Santa Teresa and Huayopata.

We have also increased the number of beneficiaries with our first projects in Peru. With Luz en Casa Amazonia we installed solar home systems in households located in the basins of the Napo, Ucayali and Amazon rivers since 2017. During the last year, we expanded in those areas and also reached the Datem de Marañón province, bringing electricity service to more than 2,100 new households in the Peruvian Amazonia. In addition, with the Agua en Casa programme, we have implemented demonstrative systems to improve water quality and management, for technological assessment, in two communities in the department of Ica.

This year we have had volunteers collaborating on-site in the areas of operations, as before the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 14 people got to know first-hand about acciona.org projects in Peru, shared with the communities with which we cooperate and participated in the implementation of our projects.

In addition, the acciona.org Mexico and Panama teams went, together with the acciona.org Peru team, to visit our first microgrid in the Peruvian municipality of Copal Urco. This solar plant was inaugurated a year ago and provides electricity to more than 50 households, some community buildings and public lighting in the community located in the Napo River basin. This exchange of knowledge between the teams improves the impact of future projects.

acciona.org Peru won the 'Peru for the SDGs' Award with Luz en Casa programme in the prosperity category as a NGO. This award of the SDG Programme of the initiative ‘Perú Sostenible’ (Sustainable Peru) was supported by the United Nations in Peru, KPMG Peru and El Comercio newspaper. When Jessica Olivares, manager of acciona.org Peru, received the prize, the presenter of the ceremony said that the jury ''highlights the impact of this initiative on the quality of life and productivity of rural and isolated communities in Cajamarca, Loreto and Cusco through access to basic electricity service through the implementation of rural electrification projects using renewable energy. This initiative stands out because its main beneficiaries are people living in poverty and extreme poverty”.

Almost 38,800 people living in poverty and extreme poverty have been already benefited with reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity, water and sanitation services through acciona.org's programmes in Peru. The supply models we implement guarantee the long-term continuity of service to all beneficiary families, improving their quality of life and their development. Many beneficiary households have access to services since our beginning in Peru 14 years ago.