Table 6 Benchmarks for effectiveness of governance measure and its indicators
From: Sustainability of community-owned mini-grids: evidence from India
Indicator | Score 1 | Score 2 | Score 3 | Score 4 | Score 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regularity of meetings | Institutional meetings for energy-related issues are infrequent and ineffective. | Meetings are happening, though not very frequently. High disagreement among household on date of last VEC meeting. | Frequent meetings and stakeholders recollect with fair precision the date of the previous meeting. | ||
Local ownership | If system is operative, major external interventions were needed to keep the project going | External interventions from higher organizational level are largely needed to initiate meetings and discuss issues. | Local actors demonstrate autonomy in governance procedures; however, external intervention may still be needed to take care of technical issues or to solve internal disputes. | Local actors have been able to autonomously craft and modify rules around the use and management of the system to accommodate local necessities, timely seeking help in cases when external support was needed. | |
VEC report on governance | VEC is very ineffective, and members are not identifiable. | VEC members are identifiable; however, there is no clear structure defining member’s roles and responsibilities. If in place, procedures are highly informal. There is inconsistency when VEC articulate rules in place. | Members are identifiable, able to describe procedures, rules, and how these are enforced. VEC members may still seek local actors to solve internal issues and disputes. There may be cases in which VEC members have left and have not been replaced. | Members are identifiable, able to describe procedures, rules, and how these are enforced. VEC report how issues are attended to in a timely manner with limited to no system downtime due to institutional inefficiency. | |
Operator report on governance | If identifiable, operator has repeatedly been unable to take care of minor technical issues with domestic connections, like assisting with replacement of light bulbs or small issue with connections at home. He/she is also unable to maintain clean panels/control room. | Operator has been able to solve most of issues with domestic connections but seeks external help for any matter concerning equipment in control room or street light. Panels and control room are well kept. | Operator has been able to take care most of the issues arising with domestic connections. Panels and control room are well kept. He/she demonstrated ability to identify issues in control room, performed based troubleshooting, fix those in his/her competency, and actively seek support from GO when more expert support was needed. | ||
Households’ accounts of issues’ management | HHs report institutional inefficiency and severe issues with technical equipment at home which are not being solved | HHs report few institutional and technical issues, some of which led to temporary dissatisfaction or discomfort (irregular meetings, issues with street light) | HHs report institutional and technical issues, most of which were solved on time, some issues took longer to fix or were outstanding. | HHs report few institutional and technical issues, all of which have however been solved by those appointed in a timely manner. | |