The EnergyPlus Guidelines, based on UNDP’s wide experience in the field of sustainable energy access, serves as a toolkit for planning, designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating energy access programmes that promote the productive uses of energy for livelihoods improvement.  Expanding access to affordable, reliable, modern and sustainable energy needs to enhance agricultural productivity, spur business activities and create new job opportunities. It is also critical for the provision of essential services, such as in health, education, water, sanitation and safety. These in turn contribute to improving gender equality and strengthening resilience towards economically and environmentally induced shocks and disasters, including those exacerbated by climate change.  The overarching goal of the EnergyPlus approach is the empowerment of the poor, both men and women, aimed to contribute to overall sustainable human development and poverty reduction.   

The EnergyPlus Guidelines has been developed to assist planners and policymakers, development practitioners, civil society organizations, financial institutions and commercial enterprises, research institutions and others.  It also provides guidance on how they can collaborate.      

The seven essential components presented in the Guidelines focus on both energy and non-energy interventions of the energyplus programmes. These components are designed to strengthen capacities for informed planning and decision making, drive change through leadership, and stimulate markets and investments.  The Guidelines encourages moving beyond short-term behavioral changes, through creating awareness among governments and energy service providers and establishing support systems for institutions and stakeholders to better fulfill their mandates and roles and to collaborate more effectively in the long-term on improved energy access and productive uses of energy.