Laos managed to increase its electrification rate from15% in
1995 to 73% in 2011 but the rate varies strongly across the
country's regions (in counts of electrified households, compare
also Fig. 1b). The government aims to reach a 90% electrification
rate by 2020 through grid extension, resettlement of villagers,
and off-grid solutions (Lao PDR's National Assembly, 2011;
NIPPON KOEI, LCG, 2010). Of these 90%, the government's
current aim is to provide 81% of the population with grid
electricity and 9% with off-grid solutions, namely in very
remote and sparsely populated areas (Bambawale et al.,
2010).5 But while for these 9% several (competing) electrification
plans exist, no electrification plan has been developed for