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THE RES MODEL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
The aim of the participatory design approach is to have as many persons involved in the design to ensure
that it is inclusive - the voices of the residents are heard, their needs are met and most importantly the
system will continue to work and is sustainable. Figure 2, depicts the design flow process indicating the level
of participation from various experts throughout the system design life.

Figure 2 The remote electricity services (RES) design person/time diagram.

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UTILITY
The utility will be expected to consider the following:

Institute participatory electricity design
This is different to the orthodox way of power system engineering and encourages collaboration with the
residents in problem solving. It also seeks to innovate in the design process by encouraging an interactive virtual
maneuvering of different systems with the customer. Using already established system information, some basic
inputs to the equations may be done using excel spreadsheets so that the end-user may test various suggestions
and outputs in the areas of supply selection, demand management, system efficiencies, activity intensity and
duration, land area requirements, environmental effects and economic load. Hence, the need to integrate the
power system design into an easy-to-use game platform as presented in Blair and et. al., will be efficacious.
5
Coordinate financing opportunities
Many streams of financing are available and if amalgamated they can add up to a considerable monitory
sum. A utility with its organizational methods can easily adjust and improvise a procedural approach towards
accessing available financing in remote energy services for schools, health facilities, recreational centers,
agriculture and micro-enterprising to name a few. The centralizing of the financing mechanism through
one entity will aid with better planning and optimization of the development process. The local governance
body will be better able to track changes and efforts and can be combined and concentrated where needed
most. In some instances, where a development plan for the community exists, this approach will make the
implementation more effective.

Liaise with OEMs and have flexible interactions.
When the systems are installed in the remote villages it may be through a one-off purchase of the devices from
the cheapest supplier through a tender. The main quality control of the process will be with the utility to ensure

5 Blair, N., Pons, D., Krumdieck, S.: Electrification in remote communities: Assessing the value of electricity using a community action research approach in
Kabakaburi, Guyana. Sustainability 11(9), 2566 (2019)

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