Grid connection
Practical Action
Domestic
Other
Lighting - probably the most
important from the rural user’s
viewpoint
Communication- tv, radio,etc.
water heating
cooking
refrigeration
sewing machines
water pumping from rivers, boreholes
(community level)
irrigation pumps
agro processing (including milling, oil
extraction, threshing, etc.)
small workshops (carpentry, metal
working, automotive,etc.)
hospitals and health centres
small businesses - traditional rural
industries
and many more
The social impact of introducing electricity to a region is enormous. There are the obvious
benefits of improved social services; lighting at health centres, hospitals and schools,
refrigeration of vaccines, etc. There are other social gains such as street lighting, cinema and
television, community services such as milling of grain, sawmills or battery charging (often an
alternative to grid connections).
There are also less obvious benefits. The status of a community is raised enormously in the eyes
of the rural inhabitants when electricity is introduced. This helps to stem the flow of rural urban
migration which is common in many developing countries. Many young people head for the
‘lights’ of the big cities as soon as they are old enough and introducing electricity has the
tendency to stop this exodus which is creating huge problems in many countries. The
introduction of electricity often helps to create productive employment in rural areas and there is
a positive impact on economic as well as social growth.
Specific issues
Micro-grids
As mentioned earlier, one of the main obstacles to national grid connection in remote rural areas
is the prohibitive cost of the distribution network. One way of avoiding these costs are to
decentralise the power generating capacity and install local small scale, low voltage grids,
otherwise known as micro-grids. This tends to be the main thrust of the work being carried out
on rural electrification in the developing world at the present time. Localised grid networks allow
local, renewable resources to be exploited. Energy sources such as small-scale hydropower, solar
(photovoltaic), windpower and biogas are all being employed successfully in rural electrification
projects in the developing world. (More information about these technologies can be found in
other fact sheets in this series). Decentralisation of generation also allows control of the system
to remain in the hands of the users and removes the dependency on external supplies and
market forces.
Environmental issues
Emissions from fossil fuel burning are causing environmental problems worldwide. Governments
are now trying to reduce these emissions to bring them into line with projected global emissions
guidelines. There are also environmental concerns associated with the extraction and
transportation of fossil fuels.
Large dams for large-scale hydropower are also attracting attention due to their negative
environmental and social impact. See the Practical Action paper ‘Small is Powerful -
Appropriate Hydro in Nepal’ and ‘Silenced Rivers’ by Patrick McCulley for more information on
this topic.
Planning and implementation
Planning for an electrification programme at national level is a complex task. There are many
things to be considered: energy policy, generating capacity, priority regions and areas, network
design, matching supply and demand, market identification, technology options, load
management, pricing, funding, centralised or decentralised generation, fuel options, national
development policy, etc. This task alone is daunting for many governments with limited funds
and lack of human resources.
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