Costs and Tariff Setting - Examples

Example: EnDev Senegal

Costs

Hybrid mini-grids would be cost-efficient without subsidies if the poorest segment of the population could pay 4,700 to 5,000 FCFA (7-8 EUR).

If the payment capacity is lower than that of the ‘optimal’ village, the supply should be limited to two or three, instead of four service levels, which better correspond to the group needs of the middle income segment. Fulfilling energy needs of the richest segment results in a considerable reduction of the profitability index.

If no investors are motivated to participate in the projects after these last considerations, then management lead by communal associations, which focus more on the benefits electrification, will reduce the amount of profit required and consequently the subsidies needed.

EnDev provides a subsidy of 70% of the initial investment costs. The operator and the rural municipality contribute 20% to the initial investment, whereby the operator usually contributes 15% by providing services and logistics. The remaining 5% is covered by the municipality mainly through treasury bills and the provision of manpower for the construction sites. The end-users pay 10% consisting of a connection fee and the reimbursment of pre-financed indoor installations.

Tariff Setting

The project suggested the tariffs to be aproved by the Regulatory Commision for the Electricity Sector. The calculation is equally based on socio-economic studies conducted in the intervention region as well as on the operator's business plan.

The end-users pay a connection fee in the beginning and a monthly fee for the electricity provided. A part of the costs for the indoor installations is pre-financed by the operator and has to be reimbursed by the end-user through an addition to the monthly payment within the first two or three years depending on the service level considered.

Four service levels according to end-users energy demand are defined by the Regulatory Commision for the Electricity Sector. Each service level corresponds to a certain power made available to the end-user.

Service Level	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Power made available	50 W	65 W	180 W	> 180 W

For the levels 1 to 3 a limiter guarantees that the end-user can't exeed the contracted limit, whereas for level 4 a counter is installed.

The following table shows for each service level which appliances can be powered . For level 4 the average consumtion of an average rural household is considered. As the consumption within service level 4 is not limited in terms of quantity productive use could be considered as well.

.	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Level 4
	No.	Time of use (hours/day)	No.	Time of use (hours/day)	No.	Time of use (hours/day)	No.	Time of use (hours/day)
Lamp 8 W	4	2,5	7	18	11	29	14	34
B&W TV	1	3	1	4	.	.	.	.
Colour TV	.	.	.	.	1	5	1	5
Video	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	1.3
Radio	1	2	.	.	.	.	.	.
Cassette Radio	.	.	1	4	1	5	1	5
Fan	.	.	.	.	1	2	1	3
Fridge	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	10
Consumption (kWh/day)	0.146		0.304		0.677		1.716

Tariffs are set as follows:

PV-diesel hybrid mini-grid	Level 1 (FCFA)	Level 2 (FCFA)	Level 3 (FCFA)	Level 4 (FCFA)
Connection Fee	20,000	37,500	65,000	100,000
Monthly Payment during the first Years	6,100	10,000	16,500	fix part: 16,000 variable part: 139 FCFA/kWh
Payment Period for the Indoor Installations	2 years	2 years	3 years	3 years
Monthly Payment after Payment for the Indoor Installations	4,000	7,500	13,000	fix part: 11,300 variable part: 139 FCFA/kWh

In the first three service levels the monthly payment rate is fixed. Only for the fourth level electricity consumption is metered and a part of the fee hast to be payed according to consumption.

Example: Bolivian amazon 2001

ELECTRICITY COSTS OF PV- HYBRID vs. DIESEL IN MICROGRIDS FOR VILLAGE POWER

Authors: X. Vallvé,G. Gafas, C. Arias J.J. Mendoza, C. Torra