1.

Electrical grid
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to
consumers. It consists of generating stations that produce electrical power, high-voltage
transmission lines that carry power from distant sources to demand centers, and distribution lines
that connect individual customers. The term grid usually refers to a network, and should not be
taken to imply a particular layout or breadth. The grid connects homes, business and other
buildings to central power sources, which allow using appliances, heating/cooling systems and
electronics. But this interconnectedness means when that part of grid need to be repaired,
everyone is affected. To connect the grid, the entire energy source must have same frequency,
same phase, same voltage level, and the generation and consumption must be balance across the
entire grid. Some of the advantages of integrated grid connected system are
1. Exchange of peak loads: - If the load curve of a power station shows a peak demand that
is greater than the rated capacity of the plant, then the exchange load can be shared by
others stations interconnected with it.
2. Use of older plants:-grid connected systems makes possible to use the older and less
efficiency plants to carry peak loads of short durations. Although such plants may be in
adequate when used alone, yet they have sufficient capacity to carry short peaks of loads
when interconnected with other modern plants.
3. Ensures economical operation: - It is because sharing of load among the station is
arranged in such a way that more efficient stations work continuously throughout the year
at a high load factor and less efficient plants work for peak load hours only.
4. Increase diversity factor: - The load curves of different interconnected stations are
generally different. The result is that maximum demand on the system is much reduced as
compare to sum of individual maximum demands on different stations.
5. Reduces plant reserve capacity: - Every power station is requires having a standby unit for
emergencies. However, when several power stations are connected in parallel, the reserve
capacity of the system is much reduced. This increases the efficiency of the system.

1.1 Micro grid

An integrated energy system intelligently managing interconnected loads and distributed energy
resources and capable of operating in parallel with, or independently, from the existing utilitys
grid. A micro grid is a local energy grid with control capacity, which means it can disconnect
from the traditional grid and operate automatically. A micro grid generally operates while
connected to the grid, but importantly, it can break off and operate on its own using local energy
generation in times of crises like storms or power outages, or for other reasons. A micro grid can
be powered by distributed generators, batteries, and/or renewable resources like solar panels.
Depending how fueled and how its requirements are managed, a micro grid might run
indefinitely. A micro grid connects to the grid at points of common coupling that maintains
voltage at the same level as the main grid unless there is some sort of problem on the grid or their
reason to disconnect. A switch can separate the micro grid from main grid automatically or

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An overview of Electrical Grid System (by Keshar Rawal)
manually, and it then functions as an island. A micro grid not only provide backup for grid in
case of emergencies, but can also use to cut costs, or connect to local resource that is too small or
unreliable for traditional grid use. A micro grid allows communities to be more energy
independent and, in some cases, more environmentally friendly.

Figure 1:- control schema of Macro-grid

1.2 Mini grid
Mini-grid is an innovative and cost effective solution to deliver reliable electricity sullies to
household and commercials use. In context of Nepal around 43.9% of total population is yet to
be electrified in spite of having abundant hydropower potential. Rural electrification reads to be
only 51.5% where 83% of the total population resides. Over past four decades, around 2500
micro-hydro plants (ranging from 5kW to 100kW including IWM and Peltric Sets) have been
constructed in Nepal providing electricity to over 200,000 people in remote areas. Central or
regional grid is supposed to provide long term reliable electricity facility. However, grid
extension for rural electrification is often unfeasible and highly costly. To address the constraints
of meeting the peak hour demand by isolated micro hydro and bringing the utilization factor and
growing demand into considerations, formulation of mini-grid can be an appropriate option to
connect these isolated micro hydro plants in a local grid.

Figure 2:- lay-out of mini-grid at Baglung District (source AEPC/RERL)

Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) are the
two nodal agencies involved in off-grid and on-grid rural electrification in Nepal. In case of on-
grid rural electrification, national grid is expanded to rural areas whereas several alternative
energy technologies such as wind, micro hydropower, solar PV are installed in rural areas as
isolated system in off-grid rural electrification. Mini-grid incorporation renewable energy can be

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An overview of Electrical Grid System (by Keshar Rawal)
a cost effective means of supplying affordable and reliable power to rural communities. The
benefit and opportunity of mini-grid seems to be promising in the sector rural electrification in
the coming day, in countries like Nepal.

1.3 Smart grid

Smart grid is the novel new concept in the world of grid system, which gives the bi-directional
information about the demand and supply and one sort visualization to the power system
scenario. Smart grid system allows 1) advance electricity generation and communication
infrastructures, 2) advance information metering, monitoring, and management; and 3) advance
communication technologies. A smart grid would allow the power industries to observe and
control parts of the system at higher resolution in time and space. It would allow for customers to
obtain cheaper and control part of the system at higher quality power from grid. The main
purposes of the smart grid would be to allow real time information to be received and sent from
and to various parts of the grid to make operation as efficient and seamless as possible. It would
allow us to manage logistics of the grid and view consequences that arise from its operation on a
time scale with high resolution; from high-frequency switching devices on a microsecond scale,
to wind and solar output variations on a minute scale, to the future effects of the carbon
emissions generated by power production on a decade scale. A smart grid is a modernized
electric grid that uses analog or digital information and communications technology to gather
and act on information-such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers in
an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the
production and distribution of electricity.

The power supply system in Nepal is suffering from lack of production forcing the distributor to
practice regular loads shedding. The building of new hydro electrical plants (the main potential
in Nepal) requires important amounts of time and investments. The solar potential of the Nepal is
huge. Nepal benefits from extremely favorable climatic conditions for the use of PV technology
with grid connected plants. A south oriented 30 tilted photovoltaic installation can produce
1700 kWh/kWp/Year. The same installation can produce 2300kWh/kWp/Year if installed on a
Two-ax sun tracker. The building of on-grid PV plants can be extremely fast and could
contribute to the diversification, independence and economical and economic sustainability of
the national power supply system. Their assembling could also provide work opportunity for the
local inhabitants and the technology is appropriate both for the small and bigger installations for
the flexibility and modularity of its components. Photovoltaic grid-connected systems are the
only technology that can sustain the grid. On the opposite, inverter plus battery system are the
ones that worsen the grids condition by consuming more than the total used energy. This is
because they dont produce energy and need additional energy to compensate the losses in the
backup systems. The production costs of on-grid photovoltaic installation produced energy (19.6
NRS/kWh) is lesser if compared to other stand-alone solar installations (36.3NRs/kWh), and
even worse in comparison to the at present used installations during load shedding periods
(Inverter+600Ah batteries: 54.0 NRs/kWh; genset: 55.4 NRs/kWh).The general constant
decrease of PV module and PV component prices along with a long life span and low and simple
maintenance needs, will allow to get closer to grid parity.

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An overview of Electrical Grid System (by Keshar Rawal)