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ePaper created 2015-12-01, 11:33:23 | version 1.43.00
38 akzente 3/15 plant committee. Made up of six men and three women, the committee decides on mat- ters such as the price of electricity or how many household appliances and televisions each subscriber can connect. One-time con- nection to the electricity grid costs 3,500 cór- dobas (around EUR 117), thereafter the ba- sic tariff is EUR 2.65 per month. That in- cludes four energy-efficient light bulbs and electricity to power one television set. But the committee also sets the level of fines for anyone who breaks the rules. ‘Elec- tricity is precious and in short supply,’ says Orozco, the chair of the committee. The tur- bine generates just 13 kilowatt-hours of en- ergy. To put that into context, one kilowatt- hour is not even enough for an hour of vac- uum cleaning. The villagers therefore accepted the committee’s proposal to switch off refrigerators and freezers every day from 5 pm to 8 pm. The onset of darkness is the peak period for energy use, when people come home from work and turn on the tele- vision to watch their ‘telenovelas’ and the news. ‘So we have to economise,’ insists com- Also available on the akzente app: a shopkeeper from Ocote Tuma explains on video how life in the village has changed. www.giz.de/akzenteapp Top: Thanks to electricity, Victoria Jarquín was able to quit her job as a domestic worker and become an entrepreneur. Centre: The ‘micro-turbina’ at Ocote Tuma (right) has brought a huge economic upturn. Its power source is a waterfall above the village (left). Bottom: People come from near and far to attend the new health centre.