Improving gender-inclusive access to clean and renewable energy in Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka is an
Asian Development Bank (ADB) supported project (JFPR Grant-9158 REG). The project aims to increase
rural poor women's access to affordable and reliable clean energy sources and technologies in
selected project sites in Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
This is a report on a gender review of the energy sector policies and programmes in Sri Lanka, which
was undertaken as part of the project. It assesses the gender inclusiveness of the energy sector at
three levels: policy, programmes and organizations. The review largely focuses on electricity access,
including grid extension and off-grid electrification options, however, experiences in other sectors
were also scanned, primarily to identify good practices that can be applied in the electricity sector.
The gender review of key energy sector policies was undertaken covering the three tiers of governance
in the country, the national, Provincial and Pradeshiya Sabha (divisional). Specific documents reviewed
included the National Energy Policy and Strategies of Sri Lanka, 2008; the Provincial Energy Statutes,
2011 (draft); the Pradeshiya Sabha Act, 1987; the Electricity Act, 2009; and the Sustainable Energy
Authority Act.