Total is involved in many projects in non-OECD countries to provide quality energy services to people who already spend some of their income on traditional energies. Drawing on our extensive experience, we are stepping up our support in this area to subsidiaries and local teams.

In line with our core vocation of sustainably meeting people’s energy needs, we are committed to redoubling our efforts to provide access to affordable, reliable, sustainable energy in developing countries.Structured support for subsidiaries and feedback will be integral to promoting this type of energy project.

Support for Subsidiaries

In 2006, Total distributed an in-house guide called Access to Energy for Developing Countries. The practical handbook, complete with examples, is designed to help subsidiaries set up viable, long-lived, reproducible projects. A sustainable development coordinator at the corporate level monitors the projects and organizes opportunities to compare notes and share best practices.

The guide reviews the various technical solutions available, including individual photovoltaic systems, micro-hydraulics, solar pumps, diesel generators for microgrids and bottled LPG, and describes their advantages and drawbacks based on the context and community needs.

To keep projects afloat and ensure their self-sufficiency, sustainable service and user responsibility must be incorporated from the outset. Total’s guide emphasizes the best organizational solution for each situation:

• The establishment of a state-run authority, as in Venezuela, for example. 
• Microdistribution, as in the LPG bottle program.
• The creation of a decentralized service company, as in Cuba.

Venezuela: Keeping the Orinoco Delta Project Running Independently

In February 2006, Total partnered with national oil company PDVSA-CVP¹  and the government in Venezuela’s Delta Amaruco State to launch an energy access program in the municipality of Antonio Díaz.

The municipality has the country’s lowest human development index. In addition, 99% of its housing stock lacks access to electric power, which has a strongly adverse impact on development and health. Most residents are Warao Indians.

The program aims to improve living standards by installing solar panels and creating a state-run authority to manage the energy service in the long term.

Installation began in 2006 after completion of a consultation phase to ensure the project’s success. By end-2007, health care centers, schools and 2,000 homes in the municipality will have solar-panel-generated electricity. A subsequent phase will supply energy to local businesses.

Total is the project’s sole financial backer, providing €3 million. We have teamed with PDVSA-CVP to manage the organizational and administrative aspects of the project. With it, we are providing joint support for the establishment of a local energy service company.

The solar panels are being supplied and installed by Tenesol, a Total subsidiary, which will also transfer technology, knowledge and skills to the local energy service company by end-2007.

In line with Total’s community program principles, the Delta Amaruco project does not foster dependency: our involvement will not extend beyond project launch and financing.

¹Corporación Venezolana de Petróleo (CVP) is a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Venezuela’s national oil company.

The SHESHA Program, Tapping the Potential of Microdistribution Networks

In late 2004, Totalgaz South Africa launched the SHESHA (Safe Handy Economic Stable Healthy Affordable) program featuring a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottle tailored to the needs of low-income communities. Residents can use the light (5-kilogram), affordable bottle for cooking, heating or lighting thanks to the accessories that come with it.

The program meshes with the government’s goal of encouraging low-income households to replace paraffin with clean, safe energy sources. Because it burns without giving off smoke or residual particulates and is virtually free of toxic gas, LPG is an ideal domestic fuel.

Totalgaz South Africa worked with local government officials in townships to set up a microdistribution network managed by women’s associations. So far it has 17 salespeople.

After a very promising start, with 35,000 households switching to the new fuel, the goal is to sell 300,000 LPG bottles by end-2009.

	Energy Access: A Priority for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals The current consensus among international organizations is that seven of the eight 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set by the United Nations in 2000 cannot be achieved without forceful action to improve access to energy in developing countries.