Electricity Access Improvement Using Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: A Case of Urban Poor Area of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Dhaka is one of the thickly populated cities in the world. The city is occupied by the influx of urban poor migrating to the city from rural areas in sufficient number annually. The slum dwellers are deprived by the government in terms of receiving access to authorized, reliable and affordable electricity services. The approach to provide legal electricity services as well as issues and challenges related to electricity access in the urban poor areas of Dhaka have not been well addressed yet. Moreover, there is no wide and effective policy specifically on electricity for low-income people as well as for the urban slum areas. Additionally, there are no effective steps for promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency. Therefore, renewable energy could be the promising choice to enhance the electricity access in slum areas of Dhaka. The goal of this research is to assess the present status of electricity access and identify the issues and challenges in an urban poor area of Dhaka. The research also evaluates the effectiveness of renewable energy and energy efficiency to improve electricity access. Based on a survey conducted in an urban poor area named Korail situated in Dhaka, the available resources like solar energy and solid waste are identified. The research shows that 17 MW power can be produced from solar PV against the demand of 2.6 MW. Besides, solid waste is capable of generating 1.44 MW and 1.15 MW by using the thermochemical and biochemical method respectively. Furthermore, 2 GWh electricity can be saved by replacing all the incandescent lamps with fluorescent lamps which will reduce the demand during the peak hours.