 For the residents of Rocinha, one of Latin America's largest and oldest slums, the struggle to find work and have access to basic social services is exacerbated by the threat of fire, electrocution and power outages. These additional risks stem from the often desperate steps residents take to bring electricity to their meager homes, which are often connected illegally and with extreme risk to the power network.
Part of the solution is to find ways to deal with infrastructural inadequacies, to provide essential services at a low cost, and to educate residents about proper power usage, in Rocinha and in other slums in Rio de Janeiro.
Such an effort is being undertaken by Light Serviços de Electricidade SA, Rio's main power provider, as part of an ongoing program to upgrade the city's electricity transmission and distribution systems. The latest initiative is made possible by a $200 million loan, a portion which is insured against noncommercial risks by a guarantee from the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
Under the Program for Normalization of Informal Areas, Light is working in the city's low-income communities to establish and upgrade power networks, install transformers and meters, and educate local residents about safe, cost-effective power usage. The company is working hand-in-hand with local NGOs to make sure residents understand the program and to address their concerns. For favela residents, the program does not just provide a steady, safe source of power; it also documents proof of residence, necessary for getting a phone and establishing credit, in addition to other benefits.
Brazil's recent power crunch has added a new urgency to the program, which in 2000 reached out to about 150,000 new low-income clients. By 2005, Light expects to be present in 728 slums and 594 low-income communities and and "irregular" areas—those with unregistered connections or "doctored" meters—adding some 176,000 new clients.
Related Links:
 Brazil
MIGA
 Quick Time Video (12MB)
Updated: September 2002
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