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 4 14/09/201514/09/201514/09/201514/09/201514/09/2015 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”

5 14/09/201514/09/201514/09/201514/09/201514/09/2015 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)

6 14/09/201514/09/201514/09/201514/09/201514/09/2015 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

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