CIGRE SC-C6 (COLL2007) Gerard Ledwich.

Topic: E

International Practices in Rural Electrification

G.Ledwich :Queensland University of Technology, Australia. g.ledwich@qut.edu.au P. Martino :Western Power, Australia p.martino@westernpower.com.au F. Calderon AC Electric Systems, USA fcalderon@acelectricsystems.com C.T. Gaunt University of Cape Town, South Africa ct.gaunt@uct.ac.za (paper on behalf of CIGRE WG C6-13 Rural Electrification) Abstract There is a common difficulty of getting a high reliability electricity supply to encourage economic development at a cost that is appropriate to the customers served. A minimal standard of the safety and construction is necessary to be defined but several different solutions have been applied to tackle different markets. The paper summarizes practices in six areas of the world with different levels of development. 1.0 Introduction Rural supplies generally refers to distribution systems supplying low density loads typically a significant distance from the transmission system. There are a range of a supply needs ranging from village lighting, to intensive support for computerized agriculture and comfort lifestyle. This leads to variety in load density and reliability expectations. For some cases the best solution is for isolated supply systems to individual customers, in others local generation for a limited set of customers is used. The more common solution is to use centralized generation with high voltage transmission to a regional substation and then supply the load using lower voltage lines reducing the voltage closer to the customer. 2.0 RURAL LINES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 2.1 Variety of standards in Southern Africa There are several significantly different practices for rural electrification (RE) in Southern Africa, established by the historical development of the utilities and new technologies to increase RE. 2.2 Voltage levels used In South Africa most RE is at 11 or 22 kV, with some 20 kV SWER feeders. Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, use 11 and 33 kV distribution and Namibia and Botswana use some 20 kV SWER. 11, 22 and 33 kV systems are 3-ph, 3-wire or two wires of the 3-ph system. The low voltage systems are 400/230 V in all countries, but older 380/220 V equipment survives in some areas. Most LV feeders are 3-ph 4-wire, but 2-ph 3-wire feeders (p-n-p) are associated with the single phase (PP or SWER) MV transformers. Aerial bundled cable is widely used for LV feeders. 2.3 Protection Systems Voltage protection of the lines in South Africa mostly follows the coordinated insulation protection adopted during the 1980s, with 300 kV BIL on unshielded wood pole structures. Standard specifications for impulse voltages are higher than most international standards. External surge arresters are fitted close to the transformer bushings, according to the transformer size and the lightning intensity in the region. Older lines in South Africa and lines in other countries have either bonded and earthed line hardware or fully insulated poles. Feeder protection is based on overcurrent, earth fault and sensitive earth fault protection associated with reclosers and some circuit breakers with auto-reclosing. Transformers are protected by external MV fuses (in some cases one fuse set protects a group of transformers) and LV circuit breakers. Circuit breakers or fuses are used on LV feeders. 2.4 Factors which influenced the current practices. Five factors can be identified that affect the current practice: o All the utilities in the region were established by or under British and European interests, so the original standards of those countries led to the adoption of mostly 3-ph 3-wire MV systems and 400/230 V customer supplies. o Eskom tried in the early 1980s to adopt a single MV level for urban and rural electrification, derating the existing 33 kV lines to 22 kV, while other utilities retained 33 kV as a standard voltage. o Low load densities and therefore relatively long lines, and high lightning levels up to 14 ground 2 flashes/km in some areas and high ground resistivity, led to the adoption of unshielded lines and the related equipment standards. o Intensive distribution research since 1988 and a national load research programme since 1995 have provided data and influenced the standards for electrification planning and design. o A major electrification programme in South Africa between 1992 and 2000 achieved a doubling to 70% of households with electricity connections (to 50% in rural areas), at a rate of 11 connections/1000 population/year, and stimulated a significant revision of standards by the municipal utilities and Eskom. 2.5 Current factors arising in rural supply. Government intentions to achieve universal electrification in South Africa by 2012 require the extension of the network to even more remote and difficult to service areas. Load growth and social grants (free basic electricity) will require the reinforcement of the existing electrification networks. In all other countries in the region, the level of household connections in rural areas does not exceed 10% and in some is lower than 1%. 3.0 RURAL LINES IN AUSTRALIA 3.1 Variety of standards in Australia There is significant use of Single Wire Earth return systems in Queensland and New South Wales with some in Victoria, but Western Australia has selected a

single phase (ph-n) system. Construction standards used by Western Power: All power line clearance in accordance with ENA C(b)1-2006 Bare wire HV (22 kV and 33 kV) overhead: - maximum standard span length: 135 meters - wooden poles, standard length 11 m - conductor types: 3/2.75 SCAC, 3/2.75 SCGZ, 7/2.00 AAAC(1120), 7/4.50 AAAC(1120), 19/3.25 AAAC(1120), - stand off (post) insulator types: cycloaliphatic generally, composite in high pollution areas, strain insulator type: composite - crossarm type: steel - poles placed along roads are subject to the policy based on either Appendix B, AS1158.1.3-1997, Guidelines for the use and placement of rigid and frangible road lighting poles(for roads with speed limit not exceeding 70 kmh) or on Rural Road Design, published by Austroads (for roads with speed limits exceeding 70 kmh) All rural subdivision are reticulated by using underground construction. Two sizes of HV cables are used: 185 mm2 and 35 mm2, AL, XLPE

Underground constructions are also used in areas

where overhead construction cannot be used due high bush fire risk, restrictions on removal of trees or ongoing tree clearing problem. Overhead covered conductors (XLPE insulated, but not for sustained voltage withstand) are used for river crossing and are being tested in high risk bush fire areas. CCT (Cover Conductor Thick) is not used. Large single phase spurs are connected to threephase backbone by using isolation transformers. Up to 3 voltage regulators are used in series to manage feeder voltage levels. 33/12.7 kV isolation transformers are used to provide single phase underground power supply in 33 kV areas. This is because the cost of 1-phase underground 12.7kV system is significantly cheaper then the 19.1 kV system. In addition, there are benefits associated with fewer inventory items. Bare LV wires are not used. LV network is constructed by either LV ABC (95 mm2 and 150 mm2 conductors) or underground method. All LV customer connections are underground. Extensive trials were conducted to develop specification for cable ploughing. At present however, all underground cables in rural areas are installed by using open trenching method.

transient faults are much more common than permanent faults. Automatic Circuit Reclosers placed at strategic points, employing the same strategies and protection types as the circuit breakers. This implements significant sectionalisation and reliability enhancement. Until recently a bulk of these "reclosers" hydraulic and standalone. In general, reclosers are now intelligent devices with communication links that allow SCADA . Reclosers are available as three phase units, used in main lines and major three phase spurs, single phase units used at the beginning of significant single phase spurs Sectionalisers and fuses are used in conjunction with single phase reclosers for enhanced line sectionalisation More recently, Load Break Switches that are SCADA capable and can act as three phase sectionalisers are being employed. Fuses, both "fault limiting" and standard Expulsion Drop Out (EDO) are employed in relevant locations. Any mechanical/electromechanical protective device requires backup by an upstream device - under a risk managed set of criteria. Fuses are considered fail-safe and do not require backup

Factors which influenced the current practices Type of terrain: underground is used to provide power supply to subdivisions, in vegetated areas, high bush fire risk areas, residential areas, etc. -otherwise overhead construction is used Distribution network constructed near coast and in high pollution areas: - we experience ongoing problems with pole top fires - areas within 5 km from coast line are designated as high pollution and a high pollution composite insulators are used for overhead construction to prevent pole top fires. In addition, in some high pollution areas a silicon grease is applied to existing insulators. Installation of poles inside small lots. - new poles are not installed inside rural properties with lot areas of less then 4 ha and severe restrictions apply to the installation of poles inside properties with areas between 4 and 10 ha. Decreasing supply of wood poles: - new poles are being considered: steel and fiberglass. 3.5 Current factors arising in rural supply. Financing of rural projects: Under the current regulatory environment there is high uncertainty regarding responsibility for providing power supply to rural loads when projects are clearly uneconomical, e.g. for 1-2 MVA loads that would require more then $10 million dollar capital outlay. The high costs of rural projects means that Western Power is unable to implement them but is under significant pressure from customers and other stakeholders to do so. The existing rural distribution system was developed to large extent by using capital contributory schemes. Under the schemes customers were required to pay some initial capital contributions and then annual fees over many years. A portion of capital contributions were refunded if other customers were connected to a scheme. Customers in general accepted the schemes as equitable and expressed little objections. The

3.4

3.3 Protection Systems The protection of the distribution system can be characterised by the following:

Running

earth system throughout (continuous "multiple earthed neutral") earthed periodically Three phase backbone at 33kV or 22kV with three phase spurs and single phase (ph-n) spurs at 19.1kV or 12.7kV for smaller loads Circuit breakers at substation are the first protective element, using Overcurrent (phase current), Earth Fault (ground fault, unbalance) and occasionally Negative Phase Sequence when available. Sensitive Earth Fault (SEF) is not used, due to the inherent unbalance (earth current) caused by single phase spurs and inherently unbalanced feeders. Autoreclose is implemented at a CB/Feeder level as

current problems with rural network relate mostly to network upgrading and scheme systems are considered not applicable for financing this work. This is because network upgrading affect only new customers or customers that may require significant load increase. Also, the schemes would need to evaluate network capacity resulting from upgrading and continuously monitor this capacity. These evaluations or monitoring would be complex and difficult to manage. In addition, under the current regulatory policies, the existing network spare capacity must be made available to new customers free of capital contribution. The customers are only required to pay the wheeling charge. In summary, in the past we had a method for financing network extensions and we provided power supply to vast rural areas. However, upgrading of the developed network in not being done in the timely manner. This is due to high capital cost and to lack of clear policies defining responsibilities for financing of the required uneconomic upgrading works. 3.6 Queensland SWER: Voltage levels The Queensland SWER system operates at 12 kV and 19kV. There are 63827km of SWER giving a SAIDI of 2073 min and SAIFI of 13.6. 3.7 Queensland SWER: Protection Systems The main protection issues are the detection of high impedance faults 3.8 Factors which influenced the current practices. Political decisions have extended mains supply beyond the economic limits to support rural development. The loads at the fringes of the grid have a nominal rating of 20kVA and a spacing of 3km between customers. This load density encourages the greatest cost savings in line construction. 4.0 RURAL LINES IN BRAZIL 4.1 Voltage levels used The voltages used in rural lines have been 15kV 25kV and 35 kV but the main lines are 15kV and 35kV. 4.2Current factors arising in rural supply. There had been substantial use of SWER systems in Brazil using a non isolated T-off approach. The difficulty is that the problems of detection of earth faults are then passed on to the three phase supply feeder. With a strong rural load growth the decision has been made to convert SWER to single phase line which makes the upgrade to three phase then much easier. One of the aspects that is making supply more difficult is the use of 4 kW heaters in the shower heads. This is making a significant load peak in the evening as in the hot climate many people take a shower on returning from work. The lack of diversity makes this evening peak show up strongly on national composite load data. Designing a low cost rural supply to maintain standards with a high co-incident peak load is one of the difficulties facing rural supplies and some incentives are being trialed to spread this load peak. In substantial sections of the country such as the Amazon region there is no supply network so any program of electrification relies on distributed generation. One such program is PRODEEM commenced in 1994 using PV panels. A strong component of this program was for public lighting and water pumping. This was a program with competitive supply with technical specification from CEPEL the central electricity research arm [1] delivering 8742 units with a peak rating of 5209 kW.

5.0 RURAL LINES IN USA 5.1 Variety of Standards in USA. In 1935, the Rural Electric Administration (REA) was established in the USA to provide funds for the development of rural electric systems. REAs procurement regulations required compliance with specific published standards. A number of professional organizations worked with manufacturers to develop standards for equipment, products and devices. In addition, many private electric companies developed construction standards for generation, transmission, and distribution systems that used electrical equipment, products, and devices. These standards formed the basis for generation, transmission, and distribution standards are used by REA for rural electrification. In general, REA standards address poles, protection and metering To ensure worker safety, the standards require that generation, transmission, and distribution facilities be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained in accordance with the National Electrical Safety code. 5.2 Voltage Levels Used. The current voltage levels used in the USA for rural electrification are: 14.4 kV and 24.9 kV 5.3 Protection Systems. The current protection systems used in the USA for rural electrification are: Overcurrent and differential protective relays which operate circuit breakers. Reclosers,Fuses,Surge Arrestors 5.4 Factors which influenced the current practices. In the early 1930s, only 10-percent of urban dwellers in the USA had electricity. At that time, the Roosevelt administration believed that if private enterprise could not bring electricity to rural homes then it was the duty of the government to do so. In 1935, the Rural Electric Administration (REA) was created. By 1939, the REA had helped to establish 417 rural electric cooperatives which served 288,000 households. The REA was essentially a government-financing agency providing subsidized loans to private companies, public agencies, or cooperatives for the construction of electrical supply infrastructure in rural regions. Cooperatives became the primary recipients of REA loans and were organized when citizens came together to apply for REA moneys. After the cooperatives had determined, based on the location of its members, where it wanted to bring service, it submitted a loan application and maps of proposed lines to the REA for approval. The cooperatives minimized expenses in a variety of ways, such as by typically not paying for rights of way, utilizing a unique cyclometer which allowed customers to record their own meter readings and then send their payments through the mail, using prefabricated pole tops in the construction of lines, and increasing the standard span lengths. Such cost-saving measures reduced the average national per mile cost of cooperative lines to half the cost predicted by private industry at the time. 5.5 Current factors arising in rural supply Historically, electricity providers were vertically integrated organizations. With the deregulation of the electric industry, the paradigm changed. In the deregulated environment, end users are free to choose their providers of electricity so traditional load forecasting techniques result in revenue sale projections with a low confidence level.

6.0 FACTORS IN RURAL SUPPLY FOR INDIA There have been major programs to extend rural electrification in India with the aim of economic development. More than 85% of the 580,000 villages in India have been electrified and over 10 million pumps energized [2]. The emphasis on agriculture rather than domestic use has meant that only 31% of rural households have electricity compare to 76% of urban. In [3] one solution is to propose generation based on bio waste with 500kWe units supplying 2 villages. The more difficult aspects to tackle are villages remote from power lines which require a distributed solution. One approach has been the supply of 2.2million biogas plants and 10million stoves to save tones of firewood. The heavy subsidy on the capital and operating costs for agriculture have meant electricity is used in an inefficient and wasteful manner [2]. The distribution mechanism is also reported to have difficulties with losses exceeding 22% which is associated with tortuous routes, inappropriate conductor selection and grossly overloaded transformers [4]. 7.0 DEVELOPMENTS FOR FINLAND In [6] the desire for reliability improvement for wooded areas and the special standard for voltages below 1000 V is making another distribution solution attractive. The use of 1000 V for spurs improves the reliability of the backbone while the standards for LV using undergrounding or covered conductor reduce the costs of the spur. These must be traded against the costs for additional transformers. 8.0 SUMMARY Financing One of the big hurdles in rural electrification is that supply to remote villages with low incomes is often not economically viable. Many programs have addressed this issue by capital cost reductions and central government subsidies on the capital and operating cost. It has been seen in many applications that a subsidy on the operating costs is not sustained and the maintenance of the supply receives lower priority as the sector does not contribute to supply company profits. In several papers it is argued that subsidies for the capital expenditure do not create an unviable infrastructure but operating subsidies do. In the area of private contractors World Bank documents propose an output based contracting which gives a payment based on the number of households connected. Reducing the overheads of metering and reading is an approach proposed in India where peak demand is the only charge. The central electricity authority are often in a position to set technical standards but care must be taken that the technical solution is appropriate to the power consumption level in terms of the metering and protection specification. Technical standards In many cases it appears that low cost electrification typically uses single phase systems (SWER, Ph-N or ph-ph) that need to be upgraded as the loads grow, but that might be only after 20-50 years. The West Australian use of covered conductor appears to be different from standards in other countries. There also appears to be a very wide range of voltage levels for MV distribution: 11, 15, 22/12.7, 25/14.4, 33/19, 35 kV and even this list is incomplete because it omits the 20 and 30 kV systems used in some countries. There would appear to be room for further international standardisation,

9.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Discussions with J Clavio of CEPEL on the Brazilian system are gratefully acknowledged. 10.0 REFERENCES [1] M Galdiano ,J.Lima PRODEEM The Brazilian Programme for Rural Electrification Using Photovoltaics RIO 02 World Climate &Energy Event, Jan 2002, pp77-84. [2] Anil K. Rajvanshi, Director,Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), http://pune.sancharnet.in/nariphaltan/ruralelec.htm [3] http://www.undp.org.in/Programme/rrlenrgy/rengma j.htm [4] D.P. Sen Gupta Rural Electrification In India: The Achievements And The Shortcomings TENCON '89. 4th IEEE Region 10 Int Conf 1989 Page(s):752 - 755 [5] Rural Electrification approaches in different countries www.ises.org/sepconew/Pages/Menu/ menurural.html [6] 20/1/0.4 kV Three Voltage Level Distribution System www.ee.lut.fi/fi/lab/sahkomarkkina/ tutkimus/20_1_04Report_en.pdf