The GISEle Framework: Innovations in Rural Electrification Planning

The challenge of rural electrification remains a significant barrier to socio-economic development, particularly in remote and underserved regions. This paper explores the evolution over the years of the methodology of the tool GISEle, GIS for Electrification. Designed to support the planning rural electrification in developing countries, GISEle evolves from topological approaches to more sophisticated and exhaustive procedures integrating technical constraints, thereby addressing the electrification problem in a holistic perspective. The methodology evaluates both grid-connected and off-grid solutions, incorporating geographic, economic, and technical factors to optimize network design and generation sizing. Evolutions in the tool include enhanced data gathering and processing, advanced clustering techniques, and sophisticated network routing algorithms. The latest release deals with the optimal electrification mode problem by combining graph theory with non-convex mixed-integer linear programming. The integration of these advancements has enabled a more realistic planning close to real life practices, ultimately reducing associated costs and enhancing the reliability of the outcome. Over the years, GISEle has encountered many testing and validation occasions, supporting optimal electrification planning in Mozambique, Brazil, Lesotho and Uganda.