IEEE Electrification Magazine - June 2017 - 49

transfer (BOOT) mode, the new policy proposes including
them as rural energy service providers (RESPs) by extending
necessary support to accelerate microgrid deployment in
rural areas. As per the draft policy, the proposed mini- and
microgrids will distribute the electricity produced using
renewable energy. While the microgrids will have the capability to produce less than 10 kW of power, the minigrids
will be designed to generate 10 kW of power or more using
renewable energy. The policy offers flexibility for the grids
to use a single renewable energy source or to work as a
hybrid system connected to a mix of renewable energy
sources, such as solar-biomass, solar-hydro, solar-wind, and
others. The policy discourages the use of conventional fuels
such as kerosene and diesel, even for backup purposes. The
grids, which are normally expected to work in isolation
from the distributed companies, will use a public distribution network to distribute the generated power. The miniand microgrids that produce more power will be
interconnected and linked to a main grid to transfer the
extra power generated. The following are the voltage and
power levels for the microgrids mentioned in the policy:
xx
dc microgrids:
■ 24-Vdc systems up to 1 kWp capacity
■ 72-Vdc systems for more than 1 kWp and up to
10 kWp capacity.
xx
ac microgrids:
■ 220-V single-phase systems up to 10 kWp capacity
■ 440-V three-phase systems for capacities beyond
10 kWp.
To keep track of the deployment of off-grid systems in
the nation, the mini- and microgrid projects have been
categorized based on the installed capacity as shown
in Table 2.
The policy also encourages the formation of clusters to
interconnect neighboring microgrids, which would
improve operational efficiency and reduce operating costs.
The RESPs serving inhabitants living in underserved and
unserved locations, such as special-category states (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand),

Lakshadweep, Andaman, Nicobar Islands, and North East
states, will be prioritized during the allocation of projects.

Technology Options and Consumer
Profile for Off-Grid Systems
Remote villages in the country are typically deprived of
energy resources like electricity for lighting and liquid
petroleum gas or kerosene for cooking purposes, and this
has a significant impact on their economic status. These
villages are usually small in size and are composed of
groups of hamlets (known locally as wadi, pada, or basti).
The demand for electricity is mainly for lighting purposes,
but the requirement may increase to cater to other local
economic activities (predominantly agriculture based)
depending upon the community, such as flour mills,
grinding of spices, briquetting, ice making, oil expelling,
buttermilk churning, and so on. Compared to urban Indian consumers, who typically use high power-consuming
devices like washing machines, air conditioners,
and water pumps, rural household loads are simple lights
(15-45 W for compact fluorescent lamps or 60-120 W
for  incandescent lamps), fans (40-80 W), mobile chargers
(10-60 W), and more. The commercial loads in rural areas
may range from lighting (20-120 W) to a few kW (1-3.5 kW
for water pumping, 2-10 kW for refrigeration, and so on).
The typical load and energy profiles for rural consumers
in the domestic and commercial segments are shown
in Table 3.

TaBle 2. The classification of off-grid projects.
Size (kW)

Category

<10

A

10-100

B

100-250

C

>250

D

TaBle 3. The typical load requirements in rural areas.

Category

Household Load

Period of Use

Monthly Energy
Requirement/
Household

Number of
Consumers

Total Village Demand
(kWh)

Domestic Segment
Lighting

20-40 W

4.5-6 h

3-7.5 kWh

100-500

300-3,750

Others

50-150 W

3-4 h

4.5-18 kWh

100-500

450-9,000

Typical total domestic requirement

750-12,750
Commercial Segment

Lighting

25-100 W

4.5-8 h

3.5-24 kWh

2-10

7-240

Others

100-3.5 kW

4.5-8 h

13.5-840 kWh

1-4

13-3,350

 Typical total commercial requirement

20-3,600

IEEE Electrific ation Magazine / j une 2 0 1 7

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