Estimating Rural Electric Power Consumption Using NPP-VIIRS Night-Time Light, Toponym and POI Data in Ethnic Minority Areas of China

Fei Zhao,Guize Luan,Sujin Zhang,Qingyun Du,Zhiqiang Xie,Lu Song,Zhiyan Peng,Jieyu Ding

doi:10.3390/rs12172836

Abstract

Aiming at the problem that the estimation of electric power consumption (EPC) by using night-time light (NTL) data is mostly concentrated in large areas, a method for estimating EPC in rural areas is proposed. Rural electric power consumption (REPC) is a key indicator of the national socio-economic development. Despite an improved quality of life in rural areas, there is still a big gap between electricity consumption between rural residents and urban residents in China. The experiment takes REPC as the research target, selects Dehong (DH) Dai Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province as an example, and uses the NTL data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day–Night Band (DNB) carried by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Satellite from 2012 to 2017, toponym and points-of-interest (POI) data as the main data source. By performing kernel density estimation to extract the urban center and rural area boundaries in the prefecture, and combining the county-level boundary data and electric power data, a linear regression model of the total rural NTL intensity and REPC is estimated. Finally, according to the model, the EPC in ethnic minority rural areas is estimated at a 1-km spatial resolution. The results show that the NPP-REPC model can simulate REPC within a small average error (17.8%). Additionally, there are distinct spatial differences of REPC in ethnic minority areas.

Highlights

The development of electric power has been an important indicator in socio-economic development
The electric power consumption (EPC) results largely conform to the spatial strategic layout for the DH Prefecture established in the “13th Five Year Plan” and objectively and clearly show the overall spatial distribution of electricity consumption in is relatively scattered, with the highest values concentrated in cities and subsequent radially decreasing values toward rural areas
The EPC results largely conform to the spatial strategic layout for the DH Prefecture established in the “13th Five Year Plan” and objectively and clearly show the overall spatial distribution of electricity consumption in the DH Prefecture

Summary

Introduction

The development of electric power has been an important indicator in socio-economic development. A rapid development of a national economy is often accompanied with a strong demand in electric power consumption. With rapid development in the Chinese economy and a steady progress of society, the quality of life of urban and rural residents has improved. In rural areas, the electric power consumption structure has undergone profound changes, and the per capita electricity consumption index of rural residents has increased. Despite such progress, there is still a large gap compared with the standard of urban residents. It is important to promote a coordinated and sustainable electric power development of urban and rural areas in China at this stage

Methods

Results

Conclusion