Rural electrification in Nepal: new techniques for affordable power

Deforestation and the consequent soil erosion are making daily life in Nepal even harder for the rural majority. Replacing wood with hydroelectricity as a fuel could help reverse this trend and provide scope for diversifying village economic activities, without further damaging the environment. Experience gained in Norway has been applied to building microhydro generators and to making the electricity they generate both economic and affordable. The author discusses these economic factors and then discusses the technical factors involved. This includes the generation equipment and generation control, the distribution network, house wiring, earthing of microhydro systems, metering, and end uses