Improving Electricity Services in

Rural Areas

Summited by:
ROHIT GIRI-1441014112
JAGADHANANDA SAMAL-1441014209
SOUMEN GORAI-1441014220
Table of Contents
Abstract
Introduction
Underground
Improving transport services in Rural areas
Develop transparent and simple Interconnection rules and
procedures
Scheme of rural electrification
Benefits of rural electrification
Conclusion
References
Abstract:
Electricity is a concurrent subject in a constitution of India , with both
parliament and the state legislatures empowered to make laws on the
subject. Both the central and state government made conscious efforts since
the beginning of planned economic development in the country in 1951 to
make substantial improvements to the electricity infrastructure in term of
access, availability and quality in all over and every part of India in a smart
way. Though the rural electrification level has increased considerably in
terms of coverage , from 1500 villages in 1947 to half of villages at the end
of 2017, there are still problems in terms of increasing energy and peak
shortage , high rural aggregate technical and commercial losses , low rural
electricity access and per capita consumption . This report attempts to
address the key question: What policy reforms may make it feasible, within
the envelope of political, institutional and financial acceptability, to bring
the benefits of electrification to the rural population in a effective and smart
way?
Introduction:
In this report presents and discuss basic issues and challenges for the electrification of rural areas.
And discuss the technical and economic issues of rural area . This report is concerned with the role
of electrification of rural areas connected either by grid or underground cable sources in meeting is
the issues and challenges.
The urban and suburban areas of the developing countries will depend on commercial fuels like
coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear. The total amount of such type of fuels consumed will steadily
increase well into the twenty-first century. Rural and the remote areas, which entirely depends on
the non-commercial fuels like firewood, agricultural wastes and animal wastes. The large
population of the world lives in remote rural areas that are geographically isolated and sparsely
populated. Such type of areas has very low power demand and is not connected to the grid. In a
developing country like India the majority of the population lives in remote rural areas with no
utility grid and this seems to be the main obstacle to overall development. Electricity is one of the
cleanest energy transfer option and is therefore the basis for the development of an area
irrespective of the source of power. The grid could not be extended in the rural areas due to its high
cost, scattered nature of the area, low load factor, distribution and electricity losses .
Technology:
Taking all the issues here in the report we mention three methods to
improving electricity services in rural areas.

[1] Underground cable

[2] Improves services and supply
[3] Develop transport and simple interconnection rules and procedures.
Ideas of Rural Electrification:
Underground cable:
The electric grid consists of generators, transmission lines, primary distribution
circuits, secondary distribution feeders that connect the grid to buildings, and other
associated infrastructure . Basically transmission of power is done by two ways
(i) over head transmission line
(ii) underground cable.
Most of the electric cables and communication cables are strung overhead across
the country. These cables include power lines, telephone lines, TV lines, fiber
optic cables etc. As in India due to natural phenomena such as heavy rain, storm,
fires, accidents causes inconsistency in power supply, communication faults, data
loses, etc. It may also cause to fatal injuries. In India at most of the slum area there
is theft of electricity. Concerns about reliability of overhead lines, maintenance
cost and operating costs, and public safety and quality-of-life are leading more and
more utilities and Realizing municipalities for converting overhead distribution
lines to underground lines is the best way to provide good service to their
customers. Comparing to overhead lines underground network is more secure and
reliable in rural areas .
Continue.
As overhead transmission line to be installed in rural areas are very difficult , so
that now a days India government has planned to installed underground cable .
Underground cable network has become an important element in the power
delivery chain from sub transmission to the door-step of consumer in rural areas .
Importance of underground cable network and its efficient management in electric
utility is of prime importance. Underground cable network has some silent
benefits of reliability and safety endowed with suitable technological
developments.
Continue
The underground cable network has several advantages like less liable
to damage through storms or low maintenance cost, lightning, smaller
voltage drop, less chances of faults and better general appearance ,
fewer motor vehicle accidents etc.
Laying of Underground Cables
The reliability of underground cable network depends to a
considerable extent upon proper laying. There are three main methods
of Laying underground cables

Direct Laying
Draw in system
Solid system
Direct Laying:
This method is cheap and simple and is most likely to be used in
practice. A trench of about 1.5 meters deep and 45 cm wide is dug. A
cable is been laid inside the trench and is covered with concrete
material or bricks in order to protect it from mechanical injury. This
gives the best heat dissipating conditions beneath the earth. It is clean
and safe method.
Draw in system:
In this conduit or duct of concrete is laid in ground with main holes at
suitable positions along the cable route. The cables are then pulled
into positions from main holes. It is very high initial cost .Heat
dissipation conditions are not good .This method is suitable for
congested areas where excavation is expensive and inconvenient .This
is generally used for short lengths cable route such as in workshops,
road crossings where frequent digging is costlier and impossible.
Solid System :
In this system the cable is laid in open pipes or troughs dug out in
earth along the cable route. The toughing is of cast iron or treated
wood . Toughing is filled with a bituminous after cables is laid. It
provides good mechanical strength. It has poor heat dissipation
conditions. It requires skilled labor and favorable weather conditions.
It is very much expensive system.
Continue

These are the various underground cable techniques through which

we can improve the electrification in urban area . Along with there
are different kinds of newly advance techniques are started
implementation in rural areas to provide healthy electricity supply to
rural areas by India government.
IMPROVE ELECTRCITY SERVICES AND SUPPLY IN
RURAL AREAS:
Adhere to the Electricity Act 2003 (EA2003) with the aim of creating a climate of confidence
within the electricity sector that reflects commitment to a long term plan based on the Act. The
effect of this sustained commitment will be to send a clear message to all actors involved of the
seriousness for adherence to a policy. This will pave the path for sustained district and state level
planning, with emphasis on monitoring and decentralized accountability, as well as encourage the
private sector to vigorously participate in the power sector and take on a profitable role as a
franchise for installation and/or distribution.
The next step would be to move toward agriculture subsidies that are provided directly to the
consumer in the form of a smart card that incorporates low tariffs for the first block of lifeline
consumption. Smart-card metering technology makes is possible to provide the subsidy directly to
the consumer as opposed to the service provider. The higher initial investment of such a technology
is already cost-effective for consumption levels typical of agriculture. The lifeline electricity
consumption level would correspond to the demands and sustainable water yields of small farmers
in a region. In aggregate, this would then pave the way for substantially higher cost-recovery from
agriculture while ensuring that the small farmers growing non water-intensive crops are not
adversely impacted. Metering technologies using smart cards are already used in South Africa.
Higher cost recovery would pave the way for facilitating greater generation capacity as well as in
reducing the adverse impact on industry of higher tariffs and poor quality supply.
Continue
In a high population state with very low coverage of household electricity, a program such as
RGGVY would attempt to bring electrification to nearly 18 million households over the next five
years. The magnitude of this undertaking is immense, but it also presents a unique opportunity to
take advantage of information technologies in implementing social safety nets and low cost of bill
collection. There are measures that can be implemented in parallel to those listed above. These
would be at an initial unit cost that is higher than that budgeted in RGGVY but has long term
benefits.
Use information technology to monitor metering at feeder and distribution transformer levels to
allow proper auditing of power supply. This will make it possible to detect abnormalities and create
local incentive structure for minimizing losses by making it possible to enhance
monitoring/collection efficiencies. The goal would be that feeders can then be operated using
principles of stand-alone business units that will be accountable for quality of power and
reliability, metering, billing and collection (MoP, 2005). This can be implemented immediately in
the new 125,000 villages to be electrified providing a cost-effective jump-start of the program.
Household electricity services :
A recent World Bank study articulates the inability of current methods of providing
reliable and affordable electricity to the rural poor. Agricultures mis-use of power and
large government subsidies have frequently been blamed for the poor state of power
supply in rural areas. While the agricultural sector has received the highest power
subsidies, blaming agriculture and particularly the rural poor for the failure of the SEBs is
misleading.

Poor rural households and poor farmers are among the populations most in need of
immediate relief. Currently, the vast majority of poor rural households do not have access
to electricity in India. Electrification rates vary dramatically between the urban poor (33%
without connection) and rural poor (77% without connection), and obviously between the
rural poor and the urban rich. This inequity impedes the development of poor rural
populations and underscores the fact that Indias rural electrification programs have not
reached the most marginalized and needy sections of society. Because such a low number
of rural households have grid connections, only a small percentage of rural poor have
benefited from subsidies, with the majority of subsidies benefiting richer households. The
GoI recognizes that for many rural households the only source of lighting is kerosene
based and hence kerosene at subsidized prices is distributed through PDS in most states.
Continue
Irrigation pumping for agriculture has been cited by many as one of the principle
causes of poor cost recovery of SEBs and a prime cause of the poor financial
health of the SEBs. However, one needs to acknowledge that irrigation reduces
poverty by increasing employment, incomes and real wages and by reducing food
prices for rural and urban poor18. In India, in un-irrigated districts (less than 10%
area irrigated), 69 % of people are poor, while in irrigated districts (more than
50% area irrigated), poverty level drops to 26%. Agricultural performance is
fundamental to India's economic and social development and will critically
determine the success of efforts in poverty reduction. Hence a sudden and
substantial shift away from current pricing of electricity for agriculture could have
jeopardize agriculture, an activity that is the primary source of livelihood in rural
areas, accounting for 72% of India's population. Irrigated areas in India contribute
two- thirds of food grains output and provide livelihood and income to more than
650 million people in India. Of the 57 million ha net of irrigated area, as much as
34 million ha is from private investments in tube wells, pump sets and water
distribution channels.
IMPROVING TRANSPORT FACILITIES IN IN
RURAL AREAS
Transport patterns in developing countries and developed countries, in urban areas and rural areas
differ substantially. Research work revealed that rural transport in developing countries has its own
very distinct features. It is characterized by people moving around in rural areas for a variety of
subsistence, social and economic purposes. Much of the transport takes place on foot and much of
it is in and around the community away from the road network. If transport is the means to improve
mobility of the people to gain access to the services and facilities they need, then planning for rural
transport should not overlook the option of non-road interventions such as improving the siting of
services, improving transport services and developing village infrastructure such as paths, tracks,
trails and footbridges to improve mobility and hence access.
Furthermore, local technicians often lack skills to apply such an integrated approach towards
improving rural transport. Investments in procedures and capacity to address this lack of local
capacity, knowledge and techniques generally contribute to the development in rural areas and can
pay off handsomely. The International Labor Organization has developed such an approach. This
approach, Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP), is used to strengthen capacity at local
government level for improved rural access planning. IRAP is basically a set of local level rural
infrastructure planning tools for use at the community and local government level. In the process of
applying it, capacity is built at local government level to sustain the process.
Continue
The significance of better transportation facility lies in the fact that it is an
aid in delivering other basic services efficiently and effectively in time and
increasing the income. The transportation facility in the remote places and
villages will bring prosperity by increasing livelihood options of the
villagers and helping them in realizing better prices for goods they
produced. In view of the importance of good transportation system for
livelihoods improvement, we must focus on better roadways connecting
even the remote Indian villages and ensure availability of required
transportation services, both from public and private service providers. In
addition, connectivity brought about by transportation facilities is a sine for
various other reforms and infrastructure development, which are on the top
of the agenda of several governments now. Transportation also impacts the
quality of the availability of services and implementation of the reforms, as
the presence of transportation greatly increases the effectiveness of
controlling and monitoring the implementation of plans/ projects.
Scheme Of Rural Electrification:
Kutir Jyoti Program (KJP)
KJP was initiated in 1988-89 to provide single point light connection (60 w) to all Below Poverty
Line (BPL) households in the country. KJP provides 100% grant for one time cost of internal
wiring and service connection charges and builds in a proviso for 100% metering for release of
grants. Nearly 5.1 million households have been covered under the scheme to date. The scheme
was merged into the Accelerated Electrification of One Lakh Villages and One Core Households in
May2004 and now into the RGGVY.
Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojna (PMGY)
The PMGY launched in 2000-2001 provided additional financial assistance for minimum services
by the central government to all states on a 90% loan and 10% grant basis. These included rural
health, education, drinking water and rural electrification. The PMGY with an outlay of about Rs
1600 crores during the 10th Plan period was being coordinated and monitored by the Rural
Development Division of the Planning Commission. Under PMGY states had the flexibility to
decide on the interreallocation of funds amongst the 6 basic services. Thus states could enhance
allocations to expedite the pace of rural electrification.
Continue
Rural Electricity Supply Technology Mission (REST)
REST proposes an integrated approach for rural electrification and its aims are-
1. To identify and adopt technological solutions
2. To review the current legal and institutional framework and make changes when necessary
3. To promote fund, finance and facilitate alternative approaches in rural electrification

Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana(RGGVY)

Government of India, in April 2005, launched the scheme Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran
Yojana Scheme of Rural Electricity Infrastructure and Household Electrification for electrification
of un-electrified villages and providing access to electricity to all rural households in the country,
including electrification of un-electrified habitations with a population of above 100, providing free
electricity connections to BPL households.
Benefits of Rural Electrification :
The village electrification is a main step for improving the socio-economic
conditions of rural areas and for the overall countries development, also concern
environmental benefits and the costs of the rural electrification in developing
countries. The rural electrification is substantially contributes to the development
of rural and remote areas [18]. In remote areas the electricity is mainly used for
powering of light bulbs, fans, television sets, computers and phones, when they
are available. The availability of electricity removes poverty and helps in
development by fulfilling the health, education, information, communication and
health care is facilitated by the powering of computers and phones, water supply
needs of the rural population. When the electricity is used for powering home
appliances, household chores tend to become less tedious, when it is used for
lighting, the relative brightness of the light bulb as opposed to candle light allows
children to read or study in the later hours of the day in remote areas, bringing
obvious education and leisure benefits. Women and children benefit directly from
these improvements but table or ceiling fans and television sets offer comfort
during evening time, increasing the general welfare of all members of the family
in the household.
Conclusion:
The rural electrification is based on renewable energies in developing
countries promises a cleaner, cheaper and more democratic way of
improving the quality standard of an remote areas of the worlds
population. It finally concluded that rural electrification presents
different load patterns in relation to that of urban loads in terms of the
daily variation expected and the yearly variation rural patterns are
smoother. Besides, in case of remote areas that present small incomes,
the extension of utility grids is not feasible and the total dependence
on imported fossil fuels is economically unaffordable, fuel transport
costs become prohibitive, so that the aim is to be remote areas are
electrified in sustainable manner. It conclude that the sustainable
development of the rural electrification is based on providing the
electricity to that areas for satisfying all the need or providing the
electricity in maximum hours.
References:

[1] Underground Power Transmission Lines, The Public Service Commission

of Wisconsin,http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/downloadcenter/
books-and-guides/power-substations/underground-power-transmission-
lines.
[2] http://www.sterlitetechnologies.com/pdf/knowledgecenter/appl-
note/optical-fiber-cable-by-pulling.pdf
[3] A. B. Kanase-Patil, R.P. Saini, M.P. Sharma (2010) Integrated renewable
energy systems for off grid rural electrification of rural area, Renewable
Energy 35, pp. 13421349.
[4]Ministry of New and Renewable Energy[www.mnre.gov.in]
THANK YOU