assessing Thailand's micro-hydropower program Helling, Andrew Louis creator Demaine, Harvey Chairperson Lucas, N.J.D. Examination Committee Prida Thimakorn Examination Committee Yapa, Lakshman S. Examination Committee Canadian International Development Agency-Broad Based Development Program (CIDA-BBDP) Scholarship Donor text th Bangkok Asian Institute of Technology 1986 monographic eng 258 p. A comprehensive assessment of the Thai National Energy Administration's Micro-Hydropower (MHP} Program is carried out in the general context of evaluating participatory rural infrastructure development programs. Principle aspects studied include: technical adaptation of component designs and construction methods, institutional forms and linkages, and benefits realized by participating village communities. Data collection methods employed were study of project documents, direct participant observation in planning and implementation activities, and scanning surveys/rapid appraisal of rural project sites. Findings centered on the adaptation of designs to maximize use of local resources-at the village level for civil works and within the urban sector for manufactured hydro-electric components; on the importance of flexible response and of vertical and horizontal linkages to the effectiveness of the program implementation unit; on the role of participation in the function of Village Electricity Cooperatives; and on the limited application of MHP generated electricity for non-domestic applications in project areas. Problems identified include inequitable exclusion of some low income-labor contributing households from consumption of electricity; lack of income, employment, and savings generating application of electricity in project areas; reported frequent outages and potential future limitations on peak power consumption; and the lack of a systematic project selection approach to planning MHP projects. Exploratory analyses are carried out of the feasibility of revolving credit provision for financing household connections, of initiating cooperative village rice-milling components in project areas, of reducing per-household investment costs and increasing reliability by implementing mixed DC/AC delivery systems, and of implementing a rational area-based integrated framework for MHP-grid extension planning in hilly regions. Recommendations follow based on these discussions for maximizing benefits realized by rural households from investments in rural electrification in remote regions with decentralized hydropower potential. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1986 Technology Thailand Rural development Thailand Asian Institute of Technology. http://203.159.5.9/ait-thesis/detail.php?q=B19709 http://203.159.5.9/ait-thesis/detail.php?q=B19709 091198 20260818224141.0