‘Co-producing affordability’ to the electricity service: a market-oriented response to addressing inequality of access in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas

Abstract

User involvement in service organisation is seen as a potential means of improving and resolving service delivery issues. The aim of this article is to review a market-oriented project involving electricity customers in the favelas – defined here as an example of ‘co-producing affordability’ to the service – in order to enhance understanding of the diverse collaborative arrangements in service delivery in the South. By examining the part played by the institutional stakeholders involved in the project and the partial dissatisfaction that arose among users, this article will highlight the limitations of this approach for addressing disparities in access to services.

Keywords:

• electricity service
• co-production
• customer
• favelas
• Rio de Janeiro

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. UPP website: www.upprj.com last access February 2015.

2. Ensure high-quality energy supply, provide service operators with sufficient income to cover operational costs and finance service expansion.

3. The urban services providers (electricity, water) use the term ‘community’ as an operational category to refer to the favelas.

4. http://www.ciclusambiental.com.br/rio_sustentavel.php accessed 7th July 2014