SMART CITIES IN JAPAN AND THEIR APPLICATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 113grid, enabling it to operate in isolation. Microgrids boast resilient features
that enable stable operations in the presence of faults and other network dis-
turbances. When a microgrid is separated from the main grid, microgenera-
tors are supposed to sustain suffi cient levels of power quality within the grid.
Microgrids can be low-voltage distribution systems with integration from
diverse energy sources (e.g., PV, wind, biomass, biofuel, and fuel cell sources
combined with distributed storage features, such as fl ywheels and advanced
power electronic conversion and control capabilities) (Agrawal and Mittal
2011 ). Thus, renewables, such as solar and biomass sources, can serve as
energy sources for microgrid electricity, and environmental benefi ts are more
signifi cant when microgrid electricity is sourced from renewables.
Microgrids can be operated within smart grid contexts. Once smart
metres are connected to a central control system, households can be pro-
vided a real-time account of energy consumption levels. More importantly,
grid owners benefi t from improved energy management and control over
energy production/consumption levels. Smart metres are associated with
better charging mechanisms, in particular, as they are designed to identify
non-technical T&D losses in the grids and may thus work against power
theft (Depuru et al. 2011 ).
Although microgrids have been developed for emergency purposes and
in case of power interruptions in the main grid, there is a growing interest
in using the system as an effective means of providing electricity to areas
that have long been unelectrifi ed. Currently, much focus has been placed
on its application in rural areas in which long distances to urban areas pro-
hibit connection to main electrical grids. One social entrepreneur, Mera
Gao Power (MGP), for example, plans to provide extremely low-cost light-
ing and mobile phone charging services to households in Uttar Pradesh
by building and operating village-wide PV microgrids. Households will be
given two LED lights and a mobile-charging point for a cost of 25 rupees
(US $0.46) per week, and MGP is expecting to recoup its investments in
each microgrid within roughly 18 months (da Costa 2012 ).
Funding agencies such as the United States Agency for International
Development (US AID) also focus heavily on microgrid provisions in the
rural areas of developing countries (US AID and microgrids in India).
6.6.3 Economic Measures for Microgrid FinanceMicrogrids can also provide slum residents with electricity. As discussed
above, microgrids are islanding electric infrastructures that require relatively