A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master’s in Information and Communication Science and Engineering of the Nelson
Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology
Decentralised solar mini-grids have been identified as a cost-effective solution towards
having sustainable electrification efforts in Tanzania, particularly to areas out of the
government’s immediate plans for national grid extension. Nonetheless, access to information
on power consumption to both mini-grid companies and consumers has been a challenge for
most of the current decentralised solar mini-grid systems. Several studies, mostly carried out
outside Africa, have attempted to address the problem, however, due to the technology used,
features and economic implications, the proposed solutions do not suit the local market.
With the rapid penetration of information and communication technologies services in
Tanzania, access to and the use of the internet is becoming increasingly affordable for the
majority of communities. This study therefore aimed at improving consumer and utility
companies' access to electricity consumption information in decentralised solar mini-grids in
Tanzania. This was achieved by developing a two-way electricity usage monitoring system
that enhances consumers awareness towards economic utilisation of the available electrical
power resources. The proposed system uses Long Range technology to create a private Low
Power Wide Area Network around the mini-grid centre while General Packet Radio Service
network is used to transmit power consumption data from the mini-grid centre to the cloud
server.
The proposed system can help consumers to have informed-usage of electrical power and
thus adjust their consumption behaviour to save unnecessary costs. The system also offers a
cost-effective solution for the mini-grid companies to track the demand and supply status of
the available power resources. The system also acts as a linkage between mini-grid
companies and consumers which improves customer experience. Moreover, this study
contributes to the existing literature by proposing an improved method to enhance equal
access to the information regarding power consumption between utilities and consumers by
using Long Range as a private wide area network for the mini-grid centres.