The Republic of Senegal Uses GIS for Rural Electrification

ASER is using ArcView software for planning, scheduling, and modeling their electrical system.

For the average person living in the industrialized world, electricity is something that is rarely contemplated; it is simply expected to be available in sufficient quantities as soon as an appliance's on switch is thrown. Even during the State of California's summer power crisis, as an example, the sporadic interruptions of service throughout the State were more apparent in the press than the living room.

The luxury of plentiful electricity is, however, little more than a dream in most parts of the world. Many continue to live much as their forefathers, toiling from sunup to sundown, their lives dictated by our celestial clock.

Located in the poverty-stricken, sub-Saharan region of Africa known as the Sahel, the Republic of Senegal has a population of about 10 million, of which more than 55 percent live in the rural areas of the country. The electrification rate in those areas currently stands at only 8 percent, which is in sharp contrast to the urban areas where about 50 percent of the residents are on the national grid.

Ousmane Fall Sarr is the GIS manager at the Agence S�n�galaise d'Electrification Rurale (ASER), the government agency responsible for rural electrification. Sarr comments, "Generally speaking, the electrification process is very costly because of the huge investment required to produce, transport, and distribute power. In fact, traditional electrification may require the investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars before a single kilowatt of electricity is generated. For developing countries like Senegal these costs pose virtually insurmountable hurdles to electrification; however, without this strategic resource, poverty in Senegal will certainly be perpetuated."

This picture shows a young woman working with an electric sewing machine in her store in rural Senegal. Electricity helps villagers increase their productivity by means of automation, thereby reducing the amount of labor-intensive work and giving them the opportunity to increase their income. Without electricity, many young people migrate to the cities, but electrification is helping stem this growing rural exodus in Senegal.

To jumpstart the electrification process of rural Senegal, the government is implementing an ambitious program that will be spearheaded by ASER and sustained by local initiatives. The goal is to bring electricity to 70 percent of those people residing in rural villages during the next 15 years.

ASER is using Esri's ArcView software for planning, scheduling, and modeling its electrical system.

Sarr continues, "Considering the characteristics of the Senegalese rural areas and population, the use of GIS is vital if we want to ensure the sustainability of our electrification program. We must take into consideration all of the possible constraints and demands on the system so that we can design an optimal electrification model. I believe that the use of GIS is critical to this process."

ASER is currently collecting data on rural villages that includes the identification of villages with more than 1,000 inhabitants and their proximity to a voltage grid, availability and location of village utility infrastructure, existing structure classification, assessment of energy demand, and the relative wealth of the local population.

This information is being incorporated into the GIS database and will be used with the technical and economic analytical model that ASER is developing. This will help determine the type of electrical connections to be installed such as connecting to the national grid or implementing a decentralized solution (e.g., installing a micropower station or an individual solar electricity system). ArcView will also be used to determine the electrification implementation schedule.

The potential impact of electricity in the rural areas of Senegal is enormous. It is conceivable that this single utility can completely transform village life and stimulate a lasting effect on the country as a whole.

Electricity provides the opportunity to interact with the rest of the world via radios, telephones, televisions, and even computers. This in turn can reduce illiteracy levels. Electricity can power pumps to transport water to villages and fields as well as drive refrigerators for food preservation, all of which will alleviate some of the hard work performed daily by the villagers.

In addition to reducing the amount of some labor-intensive work, electricity can also help villagers increase their productivity by means of automation, giving them the opportunity to subsequently increase their incomes. In short, having access to electricity can greatly reduce the level of poverty in the villages and stem the rural exodus.

Concludes Sarr, "With the use of GIS technology to help provide organization and direction in the sustainable development of the rural electrification of Senegal and the willingness and support of our villagers, we are certain of the success of this project and the ultimate economic transformation of our country. There is an ancient piece of African wisdom that says, 'If many little people in many little places perform many little deeds, they can change the face of the earth.'"

For more information, contact Ousmane Fall Sarr, GIS manager, ASER (e-mail: ofsarr@yahoo.com).