Mekong Seminar November 03, 2008

Electrification of Remote Rural Areas- Challenges and Possibilities

Suvisanna Mustonen

M.Sc. (Power Engineering)

Basic energy needs, energy poverty

• Basic needs: food, shelter– Staple foods, cooking– Illumination– Space heating

• Energy poverty– About 1.6 billion people are without electricity– About 2.5 billion people depend on animal dung,

crop residues, wood, and charcoal to cook their daily meals

– Without efficient, clean energy, people are undermined in their efforts to engage effectively in productive activities or to improve their quality of life

Energy issues in developing countries

• Inefficient production and use of traditional energy sources, which pose economic, environmental, and health threats

– Economic: inefficient use requires large primary energy input per unit useful energy output

– Environmental: increasing scarcity of fuels, deforestration, – Health threats: physical labour, accidents, physical

assault, particulate matter, respiratory problems, eye illnesses

• Highly uneven distribution and use of modern energy sources

– Availability and price of electricity, petroleum products, liquefied and compressed natural gas

– Important issues of economics, equity, and quality of life

Turku School of

Economics Suvisanna Mustonen

421/04/23

Benefits of rural electrification I

Links to MDG1: Energy and eradication of extreme poverty and hunger

• Efficient technologies– Saving time and money– Increased availability of cooked foods– Better preservation of agricultural produce

• Water pumping for households and irrigation frees up time for other work

• Reliable and efficient energy supply can support enterprise development

• Lighting permits income-generating activities beyond daylight hours

• Using energy to power machinery– Reduction of manual labour – Increased productivity in enterprises and agriculture

Ines Havet (2003): ”Linking Women and Energy to the Local Level to Global Goals and Targets”

521/04/23

Benefits of rural electrification II

Links to MDG3: Gender Equality• Electricity enables access to educational

information and information communications• Street lighting improves safety for women

and girls at night– Attending schools, community activities

• Lighting at home enables studying in nighttime

• Reduced physical labour in daily subsistance tasks

Ref: Havet (2003)

621/04/23

Benefits of rural electrification III

Links to MDGs 4-6: Improving Health

• Improvements in health clinic facilities and services

• Safer homes for children and household work due to increased quality of lighting

• Reduction in indoor air pollution due to decreased fuel burning indoors fir lighting

• Production and distribution of family planning information

Village energy demand scenarios

• Inefficient fuel wood use dominates primary energy demand• Electrification helps increase energy efficiency

EntertainmentAir conditioningCold storageWater heatingLight

Demand Results: Energy demand final units

Scenario: Reference Scenario, Fuel: All Fuels

2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030

Mill

ion

Kilo

wat

t-H

our

s

22,0

21,0

20,0

19,0

18,0

17,0

16,0

15,0

14,0

13,0

12,0

11,0

10,0

9,0

8,0

7,0

6,0

5,0

4,0

3,0

2,0

1,0

0,0

EntertainmentAir conditioningCold storageLight

Demand Results: Energy demand w/o wood

Scenario: Reference Scenario, Fuel: All Fuels

2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030

Thous

and K

ilow

att-

Hour

s

26,0

24,0

22,0

20,0

18,0

16,0

14,0

12,0

10,0

8,0

6,0

4,0

2,0

0,0

Electrification options

• Grid-connection – Traditional approach to rural electrification – Centralized electricity generation and long

distance electricity transmission and distribution

• Mini-grid – village size systems with local electricity

generation and distribution network

• Stand-alone systems – induvidual small systems for household, health clinic etc

• ”Least-cost frontier” defines economically best option

Challenges in access to electricity

• Availability: poorest and most remote areas in developing countries tend to remain without electricity due to cost of electrification

• Affordability to the poor when electricity available:

– Connecting may be too expensive for some households

– Fees/ tariffs may not be affordable

Challenges for developer: appropriate technology choices

• What is the energy needed for? Energy services

• Sustainability: social, environmental, economic, technical

• Renewable energy: local resources and self-

sufficiency

Challenges in operating a village power system

• System / load management (quality of electricity)

• Operating and maintaining the installation (technical skills)

• Management of operation, decision-making on community applications

• Tariff structure and collection

• Managing the finances collected