Alternative Energy Benefits Bolivian Families

La Paz, Aug 30 .-About 50,000 rural families in Bolivia are benefiting from electric power generation through alternative means, such as wind power and solar power.

These projects are part of the program "Power to Live with Dignity," which has a budget of a little more than US $50 million from internal and external resources, said the Bolivian minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Luis Fernando Vicenti.

The program has brought solar power systems to 9,255 families, and micro-hydroelectric power stations to 500, while about 5,566 received the eolian, or wind-based systems, Vicenti said.

He also explained by 2012, another 107,124 rural families will benefit from the alternative power program.

Studies are underway on the installation of four micro-hydroelectric projects in other rural regions, the minister said.

Through the national electric power company, Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (ENDE), the Bolivian state seeks to consolidate its presence in energy service. (Prensa Latina)