Rural Electrification using Iliceto Shield Wire Scheme in Developing Countries: Tanzania Case Study

Abstract

Rural electrification rate in Tanzania is still very low despite the efforts made by the Rural Energy Agency (REA) in Tanzania. Rural electrification using medium voltage (MV) method has two major obstacles. First obstacle is high cost associated with the cost of extending the grid electricity to rural areas. Second obstacle is remoteness of the villages, which leads to high power loss during transmission. In lieu of economic extension of rural electrification areas, this paper proposes a low cost solution of Iliceto Shield Wire Scheme (ISWS). This technique involves insulating shield wires (SW) from high voltage (132-400 kV) transmission line and energizing (11-33 kV) them from nearby substation at one line and use ground as MV phase conductor. The paper undertakes literature review of ISWS technology as installed in other developing countries. After that, a case study is selected in Mpaji village in Tanga region Tanzania. Analysis was made on voltage drop, power flow and cost for rural electrification using ISWS technology. Using ISWS for Mpaji village resulted in 10.89% voltage drop with total investment cost of about 49.4% compared to MV conventional method.

Keywords: Iliceto Shield Wire Scheme (ISWS), Medium Voltage, Rural Electrification.