A two-way electricity usage monitoring system for decentralised solar mini-grids in Tanzania

Abstract

Decentralised solar mini-grids have been identified as a cost-effective solution towards having sustainable electrification efforts in Tanzania, particularly to areas out of the government’s immediate plans for national grid extension. Nonetheless, access to information on power consumption to both mini-grid companies and consumers has been a challenge for most of the current decentralised solar mini-grid systems. Several studies, mostly carried out outside Africa, have attempted to address the problem, however, due to the technology used, features and economic implications, the proposed solutions do not suit the local market. With the rapid penetration of information and communication technologies services in Tanzania, access to and the use of the internet is becoming increasingly affordable for the majority of communities. This study therefore aimed at improving consumer and utility companies' access to electricity consumption information in decentralised solar mini-grids in Tanzania. This was achieved by developing a two-way electricity usage monitoring system that enhances consumers awareness towards economic utilisation of the available electrical power resources. The proposed system uses Long Range technology to create a private Low Power Wide Area Network around the mini-grid centre while General Packet Radio Service network is used to transmit power consumption data from the mini-grid centre to the cloud server. The proposed system can help consumers to have informed-usage of electrical power and thus adjust their consumption behaviour to save unnecessary costs. The system also offers a cost-effective solution for the mini-grid companies to track the demand and supply status of the available power resources. The system also acts as a linkage between mini-grid companies and consumers which improves customer experience. Moreover, this study contributes to the existing literature by proposing an improved method to enhance equal access to the information regarding power consumption between utilities and consumers by using Long Range as a private wide area network for the mini-grid centres.