After bringing electricity to almost 12 million people in the past nine years, the Luz para Todos (Light to Everyone) program now works to serve communities living in isolated areas. New technologies were developed, so that local residents with no access by road, such as islands and mountains, could be served by the program. In Serra do Cafundó, Ceará, for example, light poles made of fiberglass, which weight just over 100 kilogram, were used. Much lighter than the conventional concrete light poles, which can weight more than a ton, they were successfully transported by helicopters. "We encourage companies to seek solutions to overcome obstacles. The fiberglass pole was developed in Paraná in conjunction with the University. We took this technology to the North of the country, and today due to a high demand, there is a factory in Manaus," said the Director of the Luz para Todos program, Aurelius Farias. In the States of the northern region, the fiberglass poles are largely used to the installations made by the Luz para Todos, since they can be transported in floating canoes up to places that cannot be reached by land. In addition to technological innovations, the program also leverages the knowledge and local experience. To carry the wiring from the electrical power network to the Serra do Cafundó, technicians transported cables on the back of donkeys. Another innovation applied by the program is the use of underwater cables. In Rondônia, in the region of lake Curiã, the riverbank communities of Araçá, Neves, Pupunhas and Silva Lopes and Araújo started having electric power after the employment of underwater cables. "The underwater cable is inspired by the experience of our technicians and also by partnerships with universities. The installation of mini power plants - eolic, solar or combined – with on-site power generation is also the result of a partnership with universities,” said Aurelio Farias. In 2011, the Luz para Todos took electricity to more than 253 thousand families living in the countryside, in agrarian reform settlements, indigenous villages, Quilombola communities and riverbank areas, in addition to small rural producers.
