INDEX1. Introduction2. Objective and Aims3. Technology4. Electrifying Rural in India5. Features of RE Sources6. Benefits7. Drawbacks8. Policies9. Conclusion10.References

Introduction

• Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas.

•Electricity is used for lighting and household purposes also.

•Allows for mechanization of many farming operations, such as threshing, milking, and hoisting grain for storage.

•Is of great use in areas of labour shortage.

Earlier definition:

A village is classified as electrified if electricity is being used within its revenue area for any purpose what so-ever.

New definition:

The basic infrastructure such as distribution transformer and or distribution lines is made available in the inhabited locality within the revenue boundary of the village including at least one hamlet/Dalit Basti as applicable.Any of the public places like Schools, Panchayat Office, Health Centres, Dispensaries, Community centers etc. avail power supply on demand.The number of household electrified should be minimum 10%.

Rural Electrification

Electrification of Households

Overall electrification in

the country

No. Households

Percentage

Total no. of Households

138.27 million  

Households electrified 60.18 million 43.5%

Households yet to be electrified

78.09 million 56.5%

Status of Village Electrification

593732

497375

96357

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

Total Villages Electrified Villages

Unelectrified Villages

As on 31.10.2009

OBJECTIVES

Rural electrification is a big challenge today. The main objective is to have :-• Sustained• Affordable• Quality Access to electricityThrough planning of participative programs and monitoring efforts at the community level.

• 56% of rural households which have not yet been electrified even though these are willing to pay tariff for it, should be electrified.

• Ensuring Secured Electricity access to all households including poor and marginal sections of the society.

• Special attention given to household electrification to dalitbastis, tribal area and weaker sections.

• Appropriate cooperation among various agencies of the State and Central Govt. and the community is needed.

• Education and awareness programmes would be essential for creating demand for electricity

Technology

• One of the least expensive, most reliable, and best proven mains electricity distribution systems for rural electrification is single wire earth return. • Locally generated renewable energy is an alternative technology, particularly compared to electrification with diesel generators.• In some countries (particularly Bangladesh and India) hundreds of thousands of Solar Home Systems have been installed in the last years.

•Most of these systems provide electricity for lighting and some small appliances (radio, TV). •Mini-grids (central generation and village wide distribution network) can be a more potent alternative to energy home systems since they can provide capacity for the productive use of electricity (small businesses). •Hybrid mini-grids (renewables combined with diesel generators) are a widely acknowledged technology for rural electrification in developing countries.

Single Wire Earth Return

Use of HDVC System• Many High-Voltage Direct Current systems using

submarine power cables are single wire earth return systems.

• To avoid electrochemical corrosion, ground electrodes of such systems are situated apart from the converter stations and not near the transmission cable.

• The electrodes can be situated in the sea or on land.• Bare copper wires can be used for cathodes, and

graphite rods buried in the ground, or titanium grids in the sea are used for anodes

• Advantage of such schemes is eliminating the cost of a second conductor, since salt water is an excellent conductor.

Features of Rural Electrification

Renewable Sources

Source of Energy

Electrifying Rural in India

• 400 million Indians have no access to electricity.

• The problem is not one of distribution, but of provision. Many people attempt to steal electric power. The electric company then responds with punitive "tampering tariffs" that require payment for all the electricity that the fraudulent connections and meters might have stolen. These very high tariffs are unaffordable, resisted by all but the wealthiest users. The result is that the underfunded electric power company reduces service to the amount of electricity it can afford to produce. The electric companies therefore also prefer to serve large institutional customers that pay their bills.

• India's government has proposed legislation to compel village leaders to operate local generators run from biomass. Locally-controlled generation is preferable to distant generation because the fuel, billing and controls for the generator will then be controlled by the villagers themselves, and they are thought more likely to come to an equitable arrangement among themselves.

• However, there is doubt that villagers can run such an installation

Genesis of Rural Electrification• The Rural Electrification Programme in India

initiated in the 1950’s.• In the 1960’s focus shifted to energisation of

agriculture pump sets to enhance food security in the country.

• Focus on enhancing access of electricity services to rural areas with the Minimum Needs Programme launched(1974).

• Focus on enhancing access to the socially and economically disadvantaged through the Kutir Jyoti Programme(1998).

• All programmes since the Minimum Needs Programme have had the objective of achieving universal access to electricity services.

• RGGVY intends to do away with the piece meal approach and target the lowest possible denominator the rural household.

Benefits

• In impoverished and undeveloped areas, small amounts of electricity can free large amounts of human time and labor. In the poorest areas, people carry water and fuel by hand, their food storage may be limited, and their activity is limited to daylight hours.

• Adding electric-powered wells for clean water can prevent many water-borne diseases, e.g. dysentery.

• Refrigerators increase the time that food can be stored, potentially reducing hunger, while evening lighting can lengthen a community's daylight hours.

Drawbacks• Depending on the source, rural electrification

(and electricity in general) can bring problems as well as solutions. New power plants may be built, or existing plant's generation capacity increased to meet the demands of the new rural electrical users.

• A government may be inclined to use the cheapest generation source, which may be highly pollutive, and locate the power plant next to vulnerable minorities or rural areas.

• Problems associated with rural electrification.

• Rural electrification in India has been almost entirely carried out by extending the grid. Rarely have local resources been utilized for generating power.

• The distribution networks have grown in a haphazard fashion. As a result, distribution losses are very large and often the terminal voltages are poor.

• Electricity is provided only sporadically(ex : 9-12 hours per day)

• Villagers feel they cannot depend on electricity to operate pumpsets and other equipment.

Policies

• It should be clear that getting an electricity connection does not ensure availability of electricity.

• Power supply to rural areas and poor consumers is cut-off first when there is shortage.

• Quality of supply and service to rural and tribal areas is poor, it takes days to restore the power after an outage.

• Due to wrong billing and other problems many consumers get permanently disconnected .

•The Rural Electrification schemes could be made attractive with proper selection of the renewable energy source/hybrid system•Grid connected RE based generation scheme could help improving quality of supply and benefit the locality•Best Option Study to determine appropriate model/s for power generation and supply•Integration/Grouping of such models would enhance bank ability•Involvement of local community for the development of the project•The encouragement/financial support essential for sustainability and attracting private investment in the sector.

Conclusion

1.Tazhmoye V. Crawford (December 2009)."Alternate electrification and non-potable water: A health concern for Jamaicans".North American Journal of Medical Sciences.Retrieved February 15, 2010.

•Renewables Global Status Report 2006 Update, REN21, published 2006, accessed 2007-05-16•Page, Jeremy (August 3, 2009)."India looks to the sun for ambitious surge in green power". The Times (London). Retrieved May 23, 2010.•Alliance for Rural Electrification•Beall, Robert T. (1940). "Rural Electrification."United States Yearbook of Agriculture. Washington, DC:United States Department of Agriculture. p. 790-809. Retrieved December 30, 2008.

5 electrical india journal 2009 LINKS :-•http://mnes.nic.in•http://powermin.nic.in•http://www.cwet.tn.nic.in•http://recindia.nic.in•http://www.iredaltd.com•http://www.ruralelec.org

References