One of the most pronounced effects of a changing climate is the increase in extreme weather and other natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires. These disasters are not spread evenly: of the 30 countries most affected by changing weather, 26 are least developed countries. To put it another way, 423 million people living in extreme poverty are considered likely to experience the impacts of a changing climate. The tragic events of hurricane Matthew in Haiti are just the most recent example. The need to develop disaster resilience is now core to development programs working with the poor. When it comes to electricity access, centralized energy grids are often the first to fail when a disaster hits - they are vulnerable to any break in a chain which transmits large amounts of power across a wide area. Decentralized generation has a role to play in increasing resilience to disasters – in all countries, not just those with energy access challenges. Decentralization means that the entire network is not interrupted when one weak point fails. 

A year ago, no one living in Môle-Saint-Nicolas, Haiti, had electricity. By the spring of 2016, the town had a brand new grid, and it will soon run completely on solar and wind energy. It happened thanks to the work of Sigora Haiti, a micro-utility company bringing commercially viable and environmentally sustainable electrification to underserved and unconnected communities. When Hurricane Matthew landed in Haiti, it left 5,000 customers without power. Due to a large workforce of local technicians Sigora was able to restore power in 55 hours – long before the rest of the country.

The company is currently building a system for nine communities around Môle-Saint-Nicolas. Sigora calls its system a “micro-utility.” Unlike micro-grids, where single small grids stand alone, the system clusters several micro-grids together. By connecting to a centralized source of power–though on a tiny scale compared to a traditional utility–the system makes renewable power about 33% cheaper than it would be in a typical micro-grid. Additionally, because each town has its own micro-grid, with a backup generator that lets it work independently if needed, the system is also more resilient in disasters. Mini-grids are owned by communities, entrepreneurs or companies. Private ownership also contributes to resilience, as it means that there is a local trained workforce on hand to restore power more quickly when disaster strikes.

So far, Sigora has installed 4 grids, reaching over 4,000 homes and businesses, empowering 20,000 lives. Over 90% of Sigora's staff hail from the local community and are trained in-house. From carrying out community assessments, to developing generation and transmission plans, construction and O&M, Sigora's teams are making clean, reliable, and fairly-priced energy a reality in Haiti’s most remote regions. Hybrid grids incorporate solar and wind to help Haiti achieve its CO2 emission targets. 24/7 electricity powers daily life without restrictions, from homes, to businesses, to industry. Pay-as-you-go and flexible payment options energy with no monthly minimum spend means everyone gets connected - no customer is too small. include mobile money, online purchases, and direct street vendor kWh purchases.