Development of a computer programme for evaluating the values of circuit parameters by the capacitive voltage divider method used in rural electrification in Tanzania

Rural population in the third world countries has a very big challenge of getting affordable electricity due to the cost of installation and distribution. Most utility companies are not ready to get involved in non profitable endeavours. Also the traditional method of power supply by making use of inductive transformers is expensive. There is thus the need for an alternative system to be adapted. Several other methods have been tried but with limited success. The capacitive voltage divider method is considered to be relatively cheaper compared to other alternatives; yet the problem of ferroresonance is big challenge as this is an unpredictable phenomenon for which careful study is required. The study has been done over the years and though the available knowledge in literatures is sufficient, the actual need now is to have a practical solution. Several mitigation measures to solve the problem of providing electricity to the rural population power problem has been carried out using voltage divider method yet the problem still exists because there is no available data for construction of power distribution system. This dissertation takes the approach of determining the parameters for the construction of power distribution network for four levels of voltages that are common in Tanzania grid power network with the basic aim of suppressing ferroresonance which is a special problem in power system with a capacitive network.The approach that has been used in this dissertation is to consider the basic cause of this phenomenon and then determine the possible parameters that may be used in designing an optimum solution. This is found with the help of Matlab software.