ELECTRIFYING RURAL LIFE: A SOCIO-TECHNICAL FRAMEWORK FOR POWER DISTRIBUTION IN MICROGRIDS

In the realm of rural electrification, renewable-energy microgrids represent a pivotal advancement in sustainability, providing essential power solutions for areas lacking traditional grid connectivity. This study explores a relationship to control microgrid power on the basis of the quality of life (QOL) in rural electrification. It introduces a socio-technical framework designed to optimize power distribution in microgrid systems, particularly those with constrained production capacities. Central to our research is the integration of social needs with technical capabilities. The framework utilizes a decision-making process that evaluates QOL parameters—such as water safety, education, and leisure/social activities—which are vital for enhancing community well-being. These indicators are crucial for prioritizing power distribution, demonstrating how microgrids can significantly enhance rural development by aligning electrification with QOL improvements. Our previous work utilized the compromise decision support problem (cDSP) to aid in human decision-making for microgrid design and operation. This study introduces a programming technique that automates the power management process. Our methodology develops a mathematical program that incorporates QOL parameters directly into the objective function, defining a prioritization strategy for power distribution based on community-importance and energy-dependence scores. This automation is crucial for implementing control devices capable of managing microgrid power in real-time. The shift from manual to automated decision-making streamlines the distribution of limited power resources, ensuring optimal allocation across essential community needs and enhancing the system’s adaptability and efficiency. The efficacy of the framework is demonstrated through two examples based on data from our previous work. The results highlight the benefits of prioritizing power allocation based on QOL parameters, leading to more impactful energy management within microgrids. The study also emphasizes the importance of including community perspectives in microgrid design and operation, ensuring that energy solutions are closely aligned with the most pressing community needs. We present this formulation for rural microgrids, but the framework is scalable.