I.

Introduction

The benefits of electrification are well known and demand for electricity service is widespread. But,
because established utilities have often been preoccupied with meeting the needs of the vocal and
economically attractive urban areas and with maintaining existing systems, most have been unable to
address needs of rural villages. Consequently, around the world, in rural areas beyond reach of the
national grid, numerous individuals and communities have taken it upon themselves to construct their
own rudimentary electricity distribution systems supplied by isolated power sources, such as hydropower
plants or diesel gensets. These mini-grids hold out the promise of being the lowest-cost means of
providing electricity to neighbors or entire communities. However, they are often improvised, inefficient,
unsafe, and short-lived (Fig. 1). Both national electric utilities and development organizations are
therefore reluctant to encourage and support such indigenous efforts in spite of their potential benefits.
Furthermore, no guidelines exist for those interested in constructing mini-grids to a higher standard of
service and safety.
This manual has been prepared to encourage and support the design of improved village electrification
schemes. It presents the theory as well as actual field experiences. It is anticipated that it will be useful
to rural development agencies and to national and
provincial energy companies and authorities. It is
also hoped that, perhaps through intermediaries who
have some command of basic technical skills, it will
be useful to village entrepreneurs and village
development committees.
In this publication, a mini-grid refers to a low-voltage
(LV) network within a village or neighborhood
supplied at a single point by, for example, a diesel
genset or micro-hydropower plant (Fig. 2). It
includes the service connections and housewiring. It
does not refer to the interconnection of two or more
separate village grids into a more extensive area-wide
network. The designs covered in this manual range
from basic low-cost designs to serve basic lighting
needs to more conventional designs that may become
interconnected to the grid within the near future.
This manual assumes the existence of a power supply
and does not deal with details of this supply. It rather
focuses on the design of the system to distribute the
power generated to the consumers. Fig. 1. The two thin conductors (lower left)
bring power up from a 350 W hydropower
Mini-grids as discussed in this manual do not involve
plant at the base of the pole in a village in
the use of any medium voltage (MV). However, it Colombia. From this pole, it is distributed
should be recognized that it may occasionally be using bare conductors to several homes in
necessary to use MV to reduce overall cost. This three directions. All connections are twisted.
may occur when serving two or more discrete load Two guy cables at the bottom encircle the
centers separated by some distance or when pole. (Photo credit: Phillip Maher)

Chapter I. Introduction 1
transmitting power from a micro-hydropower
plant located at some distance from the load
center. In this case, transformers would be
required. This is outside the scope of this
manual.
This manual includes the following:
• A summary of several examples of
mini-grids from around the world to
illustrate the context in which such
projects have been implemented. More
detailed case studies are found in the
appendices.
• Qualitative descriptions of the issues to
be addressed in planning for a mini-
grid.
• A range of design options for the Fig. 2. A micro-hydropower plant serving remote
various components of a mini-grid and households scattered on the hillsides near
how these are sized and incorporated Gotikhel, Nepal.
into a mini-grid.
The guiding principles for the design of mini-grid systems should be that they be safe, adequate,
expandable, and efficient. Systems are safe by ensuring that they are designed in compliance with the
spirit of any electrical codes or standards in use in the country. The word "spirit" is critical here because
accepted standards are sometimes designed for conditions not found in rural areas where mini-grids might
be found. For example, to reduce cost and thereby increase accessibility to electricity in rural areas, small
conductors may be recommended as appropriate where loads will not, in the foreseeable future, even
approach those found in urban areas. But the same conductor might be deemed unsafe according to the
codes adhered to in an urban environment because increased current demand there could lead to a fire
hazard. In such cases, blindly abiding by these standards makes electrification unnecessarily more
expensive and less inaccessible to rural populations.
Systems are adequate when outlets are of the proper size and type, when the conductors are of the proper
size and properly chosen materials, etc., to deliver sufficient power when and where needed, with the
required degree of efficiency.
System expandability implies the use of designs that minimizes life-cycle cost by making provision for a
certain degree of expansion, obviating the need to replace or rewire portions of the system as the load
increases.
And an efficient system in one that provides acceptable electric service at the minimum cost over the
expected life of the installation. It may not be efficient, for example, to use materials that are low-cost but
whose low quality requires that they be replaced or repaired or which present a safety hazard. Neither
may it be efficient to save on cost by restricting the capacity at the service entrance or housewiring level
below that which could conceivably be used or to decrease conductor size and cost if that leads to
excessive voltage drop and power losses or to unsatisfied consumers.

Chapter I. Introduction 2
If village power systems relying on mini-grids are to be sustainable and therefore widely replicable,
designs specific to the conditions found in villages must be prepared. There is a need to break out from
the standard mould, to review specific needs in a community, to go back to basic principals, and
todevelop designs that most cost-effectively address those needs. Without this approach, complexity and
high costs can quickly place mini-grids beyond the reach of the typical village. The manual therefore not
only reviews a range of technical designs but also covers in depth some of the other issues that must be
addressed for successful, affordable electrification programs.
From the four case studies presented in the appendices and summarized in the next chapter, the range of
options available is clear. These projects, most serving somewhat more than 100 households, were
specifically designed for bringing electricity to isolated villages. However, even under these
circumstances, one finds a wide range of costs and sophistication, from a village mini-grid system costing
about $3,000 in Laos to a number averaging more than $90,000 in the Ivory Coast. In addition, a
generating plant is required to supply the mini-grid with electricity. This adds from $1,000 to $9,000 for
diesel gensets in Laos and the Ivory Coast, respectively, to from $4,000 to $20,000 for a micro-
hydropower plants in the Dominican Republic and Irian Jaya, respectively.
Any one design of these designs is not necessary better or more appropriate that any other. Each was
simply designed to meet a different set of conditions with differing constraints. But they do illustrate that
numerous variables must be considered in the design of mini-grid and that it is not simply a case of using
the same design in different locations, as is generally done by national electric utilities around the world.
In addition to describing technical designs, an important objective of this manual is to increase awareness
of the range of issues that must be addressed in bringing the benefits of electricity to rural people around
the world.
For engineers who feel more at home with numbers, this publication presents graphs and equations to
provide guidance on the sizing of the various components that could be incorporated in an electrical mini-
grid. But with such projects, sizing is relatively straightforward. Of more importance in implementing
affordable and sustainable mini-grids is an awareness and understanding of the numerous issues that must
be addressed and resolved. The basic issues encountered in the design and implementation of "standard"
electrification were resolved long ago, and designs adopted by national electric utilities vary slightly from
country to country around the world. However, if these same designs were to be adopted for mini-grids,
costs would be much too high, and rural populations would never have a chance to access the benefits of
electrification. Alternatively, such projects would require government subsidies, an option to which few
countries seem able or willing to commit.
The range of design options is much more varied with mini-grids, driven primarily by the fact that
systems must remain affordable, yet adequate, if electrification is to be more widespread. Only designs
that achieve this will prove sustainable and replicable. But this requires that numerous issues be resolved.
Examples of such issues include the following:
• Most mini-grids are not grounded. What level of grounding is warranted? And how, after going
through the expense and effort of grounding, can the effectiveness of grounds in providing a safe
environment be ensured in a rural setting?
• To minimize cost to maximize access to electricity, what minimum components must be included
in the consumer's residence?
• What approaches are there to reduce the cost of meters, meter reading, billing and collecting,
because these can often cost more than the cost of the electricity consumed?

Chapter I. Introduction 3
 • What types of conductor are most appropriate and available in the small sizes required for mini-
grids?
• While service to urban consumers must make provision for supplying at least 1,000 watts and
often considerably more, how must mini-grid be redesigned to cater to a maximum domestic
demand of perhaps 20 to 100 watts per household?
• How can conductors be joined when the appropriate connectors are not available for the sizes
commonly needed for mini-grids?
• Adopting conventional designs would result in excess system capacity at a cost that the
community could never afford. How does one assess the actual needs of a community to ensure
that the system is not overbuilt and priced out of range for the community?
These are some of the questions that must be answered before even embarking on the design and sizing of
a mini-grid. Consequently, while equations and graphs have been included, much of the manual focuses
on increasing awareness of these and related issues and on providing insights gained to date by those who
have already designed and constructed such systems.

Chapter I. Introduction 4