Single Wire Earth Return Distribution Grids: A Panacea for Rapid Rural Power Penetration in Africa via Regulatory Policy Transfer

The Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) system was developed in the 1920s to provide a low-cost means of electricity distribution to sparsely populated rural communities. Since then, it has been in prominent service on all continents except Africa. Its use in Africa has been mostly in the southern and northern parts of the continent, with its virtual non-existence in West and East Africa. This paper highlights a few key research and development strategies to improve the technology, one of which is currently at Technology Readiness Level 5. It also provides a cost comparison of SWER with the regular 3-wire distribution system, by carrying out a fiscal study of the Tuhua SWER grid. The comparison shows that the SWER system is long overdue for large-scale use in Africa, which can be accelerated through the adoption of regulatory policies and best practices developed by countries that are historic users of the technology.