Following a request from the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy, PDF supported capacity building for off-grid rural electrification planning within the Rural Electrification Executive Secretariat (REES) and on the regional level. The project also strengthened cooperation between different government levels. The initiative aimed at making Regional Energy Bureaus, Regional Bureaus of Finance and Economic Development and Regional Cooperative Commissions familiar with Ethiopia's off-grid rural electrification masterplan, methods of rural electrification planning and related tools (GIS database and GEOSIM simulation tool) so that they can undertake local planning of energy services. Moreover, a pilot local off-grid electrification plan was developed and discussed with representatives of all regions. The project was implemented by the French consulting firm IED.