Smart Villages/LCEDN webinar series For more information, please go to e4sv.org www.e4sv.org/events/webinar-resilience-reliability-energy-nepal The successful provision of energy services depends on the creation of resilient and reliable energy projects. Their resilience depends on the whole system’s ability to handle shocks and stresses, such as natural hazards and the effects of climate change. Meanwhile, the reliability of schemes depends on the on-going relationship between communities and technology. This can, in turn, contribute to broader community resilience. This webinar explores these interlinkages in the context of Nepal, and is being held jointly with HPNet - the Hydro Empowerment Network (www.hpnet.org)

1. Reliability of micro-hydropower
plants in Nepal from technical,
economic and social perspectives
Joe Butchers
Funded by

2. 2
Overview
• Background, motivation and method
• Technical, economic and social
elements of reliability
• Further work
• Research was presented at the Global
Humanitarian Technology Conference in San
Jose, USA in 2018 joe.butchers@bristol.ac.uk

3. 3
Background
• An estimated 3,300 micro-hydropower
plants (MHPs) provide a total of 30MW
of power
• The Alternative Energy Promotion Centre
typically provides a subsidy of
approximately 40% to 60%
• Community contribute financially and
with labour
• Operators and managers selected by the
local community and trained
The World Bank. Micro-Hydros Earn First Carbon Revenue in Nepal. [online] Available at:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/09/15/micro-hydros-earn-first-carbon-revenue-in-
nepal

4. 4
Motivation
• Previous research has established:
▪ variability in turbine efficiency
▪ maintenance practices vary depending on the end uses of electricity
▪ common issues in manufacture of turbines and construction of civil works
• What is the interaction between operators, managers, community
and the technology?
• How do these relationships affect the reliability of the scheme?

5. 5
Method
• Visited 24 sites in Baglung and Gulmi
districts of Nepal
• Two types of turbine: 18 Crossflow and
6 Pelton sites
• Interviews with a consumer, managers
and plant operator at each site
• A quantitative assessment of
maintenance conducted at 10 sub-
systems

6. 6
Maintenance assessment: the good

7. 7
Maintenance assessment: the bad

8. 8
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
X
W
V
U
T
S
R
Q
P
O
N
M
L
K
J
I
H
G
F
E
D
C
B
A
Mean score
SiteID
Maintenance scores by site
Trained operator
Untrained operator
Average
Very poor Excellent

9. 9
Electricity tariffs
• Payment was charged based on electricity meter readings for both
consumers and end uses
• Base rates for consumers varied considerably between:
• 100NPR ($0.87) for 20kWh
• 100NPR ($0.87) for 4kWh
• At larger sites (>50kW), there can be multiple offices where
consumers are able to pay within a period
• At sites with more dispersed houses, more difficult to collect

10. 10
What are the benefits to consumers?
• Time saved in travelling for mobile phone charging – for one
respondent, they avoid a journey “that takes around 45 minutes to 1
hour to reach [on foot]”
• Financial savings versus alternative forms such as candles, kerosene
or battery charged lights – “NPR 500 per month on lighting reduced to
NPR 100 per month”
• “It is difficult when the plant is shut down and creates problem even if
it is off for 1 or 2 days”

11. 11
Are consumers reliable?
• At 79% of sites, manager
representatives answered “Yes” or
“Yes, mostly” when asked if
consumers paid regularly
• What happens if the tariff is not
paid?
▪ “society shouts if [the bill is] not paid”
▪ “salaries will not be paid, maintenance
repairs will not be on time”

12. 12
Is the income enough?
• Question: “When there have been technical
problems, has there been enough money to
pay for repairs?”
• Amongst the 8 larger plants (>50kW), all
managers said they had been able to pay for
repairs
• Amongst smaller plants (<50kW), responses
were more varied
Responses from managers at <50kW plants
Yes Sometimes No

13. 13
Reliability is transient
• Trained operators deliver a higher
standard of maintenance but if they
move the knowledge is not
transferred
• Problems can initiate and develop at
a number of project stages
• Plant income can be unreliable

14. 14
Reliability is economic and social
• Income of plants is variable for economic, social and environmental
reasons:
• the number of connected households and end uses
• the geography of the site, the income of consumers, the tariff structure
• Consumers are mostly reliable consumers
• When the plant is not working, consumers pay more for alternative
energy sources
• Tariff setting and collection must be appropriate for communities
and technology

15. 15
Further work
• When do issues that affect reliability initiate and develop?
• Detailed analysis of the complete project lifecycle
• Survey and observation of manufacturers in March & April
• Looking for opportunities to improve reliability through design change
and project process recommendations
Design Manufacture Construction Installation Maintenance

16. Thank you for listening
joe.butchers@bristol.ac.uk