Rural Electrification Fund (REF) was established by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) by Royal Decree No. NS/RKT/1204/048 dated December 4, 2004, as an autonomous public institution under the laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia, to accelerate development of electricity in rural areas, under assistance from the World Bank. The Royal Decree aims to:

1. Promote equitable rural electrification coverage by facilitating the population’s access to electricity at affordable price for economic, social and households uses, thus contributing to its poverty reduction; and
2. Promote and encourage the private sector to participate in providing sustainable rural electrification services, in particular for the utilization of the economic application of well proven, technically and commercially, of new and renewable energy technologies (RET).

The mandate of REF shall last until REF achieves the Government target on rural electrification as follows:

- By the year 2020: all villages have access to electricity of any type such as grid, off-grid, SHS, battery etc. and
- By the year 2030: at least 70 % of all households have access to electricity of grid quality.

Under the Rural Electrification and Transmission Project (RETP), REF has program to:

1. Provide grant assistance to Rural Electricity Enterprises (REEs) for 50,000 new HH connections in rural areas;
2. Installation of Solar Home Systems (SHS) for 12,000 new rural households;
3. Completion of detailed feasibility study of 5 mini/micro hydro projects with total installed capacity of 6,850 kW to facilitate project financing by REEs and construction of one mini/micro hydro project with installed capacity of 1,200 kW.

REF is here to assist Public, Private Companies, REEs, and Stakeholders in power sector, who are interested or intend to implement the above programs.