Solar rooftops are popping up everywhere. Many consumers in the developed world are generating and producing their own electricity, and leaving their grid connection as a lifestyle choice.

Off-grid electrification is today a viable alternative to grid-based electricity. Unfortunately, more than 700 million people in Asia and the Pacific still have no access to electricity, and a large number of them are in two Central Asia Regional Cooperation Program member countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

People living in the remote mountainous areas of other CAREC countries also have poor access to reliable electricity.

Pakistanis alone spend about $2.3 billion annually on candles, kerosene lamps, and battery-powered flashlights.

Kerosene lamps cost up to 30 times more than the inefficient incandescent bulb, and 100 times more than compact fluorescent and light-emitting diode lamps.

In poor households, kerosene account for up to 25% of their family’s monthly income.