ENERGY I

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The First Energy Project operation carries through, at the project level, one of the central themes of the IDA country strategy; supporting sectoral strategies aimed at rehabilitating productive infrastructure and establishing the conditions for long-term growth. The main objectives of the proposed project are to help improve the reliability of power production and supply throughout the country and the power sector's financial and operational performance; maximize the efficient use of locally available and economically accessible energy resources; and strengthen energy sector planning capability. To this end, the project specifically entails two main components involving the energy sector as a whole and the power subsector in particular. Within the latter component, the project involves generation rehabilitation and expansion; transmission and substation improvement; distribution rehabilitation and expansion and improvement in general plant and services. In addition, this component includes power sector institution building; power sector studies; and an electric boiler program. For the energy sector as a whole, the project entails providing equipment for production of pine charcoal and rice husk briquettes and technical assistance with sector studies.