Energy for Sustainable Development Electri fi cation planning using Network Planner tool : The case of Ghana

a r t i c l e i n f o In this study, the Network Planner, a decision support tool for exploring costs of different electrification technology options in un-electrified communities, was used to model costs and other inputs for providing electricity to 2600 un-electrified communities in Ghana within a 10-year planning period. The results show that the cost-optimized option for majority of the un-electrified communities will be grid connection, accounting for more 85% of the total un-electrified communities in each region. The total cost of electrification (which includes initial and recurring) at 100% penetration rate totalled US$ 696 million with a breakdown as follows: US$ 592 million for grid electrifica-tion, US$ 47 million for off-grid electrification and US$ 58 million for mini-grid compatible communities. Sensitivity analysis shows that model scenarios with higher electricity demand and higher household penetration rate generally recommend a larger percentage of communities for grid electrification, rather than off-grid or diesel mini-grid. One important aspect of this modelling approach is that it predicts costs for different electricity generation technologies for each of the communities involved and thus gives the planner the freedom to explore the most cost-effective technology based on existing conditions in the community and price trend of electrification inputs during the planning period. Introduction One of the significant drivers of socioeconomic development of a country is access to electricity (Duer and Christensen, 2010; Kanagawa and Nakata, 2007). Access to electricity contributes to improvements in health delivery, education, environmental sustainability and agricultural development including crop irrigation, agro-processing and preservation of farm produce (Haanyika, 2008; Sokona et al., 2012). Despite this enormous importance, about a quarter of the world's population live without access to electricity. The worst trends in access to electricity are found in sub-Saharan African and South East Asia (Pachauri et al., 2012). Projections by the International Energy Agency (2011) indicate that by 2030, about 49% of the people in sub-Saharan Africa would not have access to electricity. In spite of the electricity access challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana has made a remarkable progress in its own electricity access rate. Generally, increasing access to electricity has proven difficult and expensive in sub-Saharan Africa, where population is projected to be growing at a faster rate (Mulder and Tembe, 2008). Due to high the cost of investment into electricity infrastructure, policy makers and planners need tools to develop strategies for lowering the electrification cost in …