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ENERGIA News Issue 2.1, February 1998

‘Energising’ Rural Areas of Peru

Alfredo Oliveros D.

For years, electrification practices from the industrialised world have been applied in Latin America. This approach to electrification is based on increasing the supply through extension of the grid or by the installation of permanent generators, whose main purpose has been in lighting villages.

This procedure, although it may achieve high initial indexes of utilisation, is often found wanting. On the one hand because it does not lead to the development of the region and on the other hand because it discourages the user with constant increases in the tariffs.

This article describes an alternative demand-led way of introducing energy which was applied in Peru and Bolivia and which the author calls ‘energisation’. This approach is based on the idea that the need for energy goes further than just the need for electricity. It considers also other forms of energy supply such as thermal and mechanical energy. Moreover, in determining the best way to provide energy, it takes into account social and economic factors such as the need for:

• Appropriate low-cost technology;
• Productive use of generated energy to give added value to local natural products;
• Improvement of management capacity in the communities;
• Use of renewable energy sources;
• Strengthening of organisation and ancestral values of the people, such
• as solidarity, community labour, and respect for nature

In this way it will often be possible to bring energy to the community at a lower cost to that provided by an electricity utility, with a shorter payback time on the investment than in large projects. This fast payback is made possible when the energy source is used for additional income generating end-uses which would not be possible when electricity was simply sold for domestic and public lighting in the communities.

The project

To put this concept into practice, an energy system was planned at the beginning of 1990 for the Ayapata community in the department of Puno in Peru. The system consists of a 30 kW micro hydroelectric plant, a grain mill with a capacity of 250 kg/h (for wheat, maize, beans, tarwi and canihua), two battery chargers for 15 batteries each, 70 posts for public lighting and the initial lighting of 45 houses.

In order to carry out the programme an Electrification Committee, made up of peasants committed to the project, was established with the advice and help of the local priest. Its tasks included the gathering of contributions from members of the community and the contracting of consultants to carry out the studies necessary before initiating the work. The committee also needed to organise the support of each member of the community (men, women and children) in terms of labour provided, so that the civil works might be completed. It also needed to contract out the construction of all the electro-mechanical equipment and co-ordinate each stage of the project with the consultant.

All the hardware, such as the cables, the electrical hardware, the Mitchell/Banki cross-flow turbine, the generator control panels, the p.v.c. and the pipework were all of Peruvian manufacture. Thus the project kept very much to the philosophy of appropriate technology. The distribution network was installed by the local people under the guidance of the consultant.

Economics

The alternative way of energy introduction outlined above can be successful if, in parallel with the energy project, there are several productive end-use activities capable of raising income for the community. One would, in the end then, have a project that was self-sustaining from an economic point of view, and which would be capable of offering lighting at a lower tariff than might otherwise be possible.

In the Ayapata project, the initial financing of the electro-mechanical equipment was made by local contributors and from a loan from a Peruvian financial organisation. The civil works where undertaken with communal labour and involved making a 4 km channel connecting to an ancient canal which brought water from the Itarcota lake. The budget for the project did not include money for the distribution posts and these were provided by the community.

Great care has been taken in the introduction of industrial projects (the productive end-uses) so that these provide opportunities for the participants to take advantage of each new possibility. The community is now very aware of the impact this project has had upon the economics of the co-operative.

Women

The presence of women in all activities and in the decisions of the Assembly is very strong, but usually not recognised and therefore undervalued.

Although there was no specific effort made to further the situation of women during this project, nevertheless their participation was active and continuously promoted, since there was a strong current favouring women. As a result, during the period of the project, a woman was elected as the first female mayor in this region. The president of the Co-operative at this moment is also a woman.

Results

After almost seven years it is possible to see concrete and tangible results, both at a technical and socio-economic level. The results have been verified through various visits carried out by EDEVI, during which the plant was observed to be functioning continuously.

Once the public works were completed and the electro-mechanical equipment installed, an Electricity Co-operative was founded to administer the operation and the maintenance of the system in place of the initial Electrification Association. Four operators were trained to insure a reliable service. In this period only one bearing from the generator and one from the turbine had to be changed. The system is operating without any break from October 1990, when it was inaugurated. The Co-operative takes charge of all matters concerning the sale of electricity and the supply of services.

There are three categories of community subscribers as can be seen in Table 1. The domestic rate applies to 90% of the population.

Table 1: Costs of electrical services in Ayatapa (Peruvian currency) May 1997

Battery charging is a service provided to all the communities in the project area and the milling service is for public use, paid for either in cash or with part of the milled product. In May 1997 the price for the milling service was US-dollars 2.26 per “quintal” (wheat, maize, beans, dried potatoes) and US dollars 0,75 for one charged battery.

The milling service is offered at a promotional cost, the battery charging is at a cost close to the market price. As a reference, the price of a candle is US dollars 0.23. By the beginning of May 1997 the number of members of the Co-operative has increased to 120.

Thanks to the project, the Co-operative's capital has grown. The loan to finance the project has been completely re-paid. The organisation has also strengthened because every year the board of directors is renewed or ratified and acquires more responsibilities. The domestic installations, the operation of the machines, and the maintenance is carried out by Co-operative personnel.

Future plans

After this experience, the community decided, in an Assembly, to extend the existing projects and to encompass a wider region. These have included a bakery and a plant to produce potato starch. For this purpose the capacity of the Micro Hydroelectric Plant has been increased to 100 kW. The civil work, pressure piping, machine housing and electro-mechanical machinery for the new project are completed.

The construction of the small production complex has begun in a 2000 m2 area where different plants will function such as a dryer, a mill, a bakery and a starch plant. The impact of this project has also been very important for the region, motivating two other communities to initiate feasibility studies and then to implement projects. One of them completed two years ago with the construction of a 100 kW micro hydro electric plant and now they are doing studies to start industrial activities. The Co-operative has elected a woman president to put into practice this new phase.

Conclusion

The project described illustrates a number of points about the possibilities of alternative forms of energy introduction:

• Appropriate technology permits the supply of a reliable service, because any problem is solved by the operator himself;
• The success of the project is partly due to the democratic practices and to the power of communal work;
• The use of renewable energy sources helps in the provision of a low-cost service in harmony with nature;
• In the beginning the project entered an unsatisfied micro-regional market. It now prepares the organisation participation in a more demanding regional market;
• Economic viability for this type of project is possible, provided that in the beginning the community can count on solidarity from developed countries, permitting financial aid to help the poorest people in their daily effort to survive;
• Women were able to fulfil a meaningful role in the project's organisational structure even without a clear effort to achieve this. It is expected that with a more prominent role for women, and building upon their capacities, a further consolidation of the project will occur, and women's social and economic status will improve.

Projects of this nature can be applied in other similar regions with diverse renewable energy sources.

References

• Oliveros “Energización”. Una opción de Desarrollo Energético Descentralizado” Allpanchis, 1995
• Oliveros “Tecnología Energético y Desarrollo” - Lima-Perú, 1989
• Glave “Testino, Luz es Progreso”. Electrificación Rural en Junín y Apurimac, ITDG, Lima-Perú, 1988
• Park “Desarrollo Integrado de la Energía”, Organización de los Estados Americanos, Washington DC. 1988.

For more information, please contact Alfredo Oliveros D. through the ENERGIA News Secretariat.