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The objective of most rural electrification programs in the developing world is to bring about socio-economic development to households. Governments have put in place a number of measures to achieve this goal. Previous studies on rural electrification programs in developing countries show that solar home systems and mini-grid systems are the dominant technologies. Assessments of a pilot hybrid mini-grid project at Lucingweni village have concluded that mini-grid projects are not feasible due to high electricity production costs. As a result efforts toward rural electrification have been focused on the solar home system. Nevertheless, previous studies of the South African solar home system program have shown that the development objectives of the program are yet to be met more than a decade after commissioning. Therefore, this study investigates the viability of a hybrid mini-grid as a solution for rural …