A research study report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology

Research Studies Project Report (M. Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1987

In this research study , impacts of the electrification of rural areas were studied using cost-benefit analysis. A systematic method for assessing the financial and economic impacts of costs and benefits of rural electrification and to find the sensitivity of the project resulting from changes in important parameters were formulated. This approach was applied to a typical rural area which was proposed for electrification. It was revealed that if only domestic and commercial consumers of the rural area are to us e electricity , the project is financially unattractive and economically infeasible. But if other productive uses of the electricity develops in the area, then the project becomes feasible from both financial and economical point of view. However, standard cost-benefit analysis procedure cannot assess all the costs and benefits of rural electrification because it also induces multiplier effects and externalities. An alternative method of appraising costs and benefits of rural electrification using input output tables is also proposed.