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THE UTILITY
The role of the electric utility is extensive; beyond just providing electricity services. The electricity utility works
to synthesize the needs of the residents against the backdrop of the regulators, international and national
policy frameworks, and financing avenues. Facilitated by the utility, the residents may better understand
what the national policies dictate and together can determine how best the policies fit or may be manifested
in the social, cultural, and economic conditions of the community. The residents will share what aspects of
electricity provision are most essential and help to identify factors that may support or disrupt supply. The
utility/resident interaction is necessary to create buy-in and contextual understanding of the energy services.
It is anticipated that during this process some ingenious solutions would result. New ways to provide energy
services can be created and explored.

The co-exploration of the demand will transcend deeper than just what the electricity will be used for. It will
also help to identify indicators that can evaluate and monitor the impacts that the implementations will have
on the socio-cultural order of the community. This aspect idealizes the unification of multiple disciplines that
may not fit with the conventional utility model. The utility’s responsibility is pushed beyond simply delivering
electricity but more broadly to ensuring that electricity serves the essential needs of the community in an
efficient and effective manner. Therefore, extending the utility’s social corporate responsibility while enabling
the inclusion of the residents into the design process allows them to contribute towards the solutions and
most importantly allows for the transfer of tacit needs.

The utility’s role may seem burdensome. However, this is not the case, since through the application of modern
technology and use of data more information may be generated in a timely manner. Additionally, a utility
company may co-opt the skills of other professionals in the field via service contracts to assist with the socio-
cultural assessments and end-user satisfaction. Most utilities already have a structured way of subcontracting
that will ensure proper expertise is employed and the quality of services rendered are acceptable. The utility

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