Nearly one million people in the Brazilian Amazon live off-grid with limited or no access to electricity, particularly Indigenous and traditional communities. Brazilian government is expanding electricity access via photovoltaic systems through a top-down policy titled Light for All Program. In parallel, NGOs, universities, and local communities have been experimenting with an energy commons framework, wherein communities govern and own their own energy systems. This comparative, qualitative study explores the experiences of two traditional communities in Santarém, Brazil: one served by the Light for All Program and the other by a university-supported, community-engaged project. The study: (i) examines and compares the impacts of top-down versus bottom-up approaches towards off-grid electrification; (ii) assesses how these models support or limit an energy commons framework. Preliminary findings, based on participant observation and interviews, indicate that both approaches improve quality of life, particularly through enabling food preservation via freezers. Government-led projects are better funded and supply more electricity to households, which enables the purchase of other electrical appliances. However, the top-down approach creates a “customer-provider” model with monthly bills, which can clash with local values of sovereignty and self-governance. In contrast, costs associated with projects implemented under an energy commons framing aim to solely cover maintenance efforts, thus disregarding profits. Moreover, this approach offers more flexible options to raise funds for maintaining the energy system, such as community labor or fundraising. Energy commons projects also invest in training to ensure communities are autonomous in repairing their own systems, which can lead to future self-funded expansions of the energy system. Finally, community sovereignty is strengthened through the creation of deliberation arenas in which communities create and negotiate rules to self-govern their own systems. By elevating local voices, this study offers insights on impacts of off-grid electrification within a top-down and an energy commons framework.
