Results and visualization

The output of the analysis are two csv files. One large file containing data for each geolocated settlement and one smaller file with summarized data. Additionally, there is a file that lists the key input variables used in the scenario.

Output parameters

The following table displays the parameters included in the excel file that includes all the grid cells. The first 18 parameters come from the input csv file while the remaining stem from running the Python code.

Description of output columns

Variable	Unit	Description
Country		Name of the country
Admin_1		Admin level 1 (state/region/province) name
X_deg	degrees	Longitude
Y_deg	degrees	Latitude
GridCellArea	sq. km	Area of population settlement
Id	indicator	ID given to each cluster
Pop	people	Population in each cluster for the start year as given by the GIS dataset
NightLights	nW cm−2 sr−1	Values of light intensity
GHI	kWh/km²	Solar irradiation (usually in the range of 1,500–2,500)
WindVel	m/s	Average annual wind speed
Travelhours	hours	Time in hours to travel to the nearest town of more than 50,000 people
SubstationDist	km	Distance to nearest substation
RoadDist	km	Distance to nearest road
CurrentMVLineDist	km	Distance to nearest existing MV line
PlannedMVLineDist	km	Distance to nearest existing or planned MV line
CurrentHVLineDist	km	Distance to nearest current HV line
PlannedHVLineDist	km	Distance to nearest existing or planned HV line
HydropowerFID	indicator	ID of nearest potential hydropower site
Hydropower	kW	Small-scale hydropower potential of nearest site
HydropowerDist	km	Distance to nearest potential hydropower site
TransformerDist	km	Distance to nearest service transformer (MV/LV)
IsUrban	0 = rural, 2 = urban	Urban/rural split assigned in the calibration algorithm
ResidentialDemandTierCustom	kWh/household/year	Indicative residential electricity demand target
PerHouseholdDemand	kWh/household/year	Indicative residential electricity demand target
HealthDemand	kWh/year	Indicative electricity demand for health facilities
EducationDemand	kWh/year	Indicative electricity demand for educational facilities
AgriDemand	kWh/year	Indicative electricity demand for agricultural processes
CommercialDemand	kWh/year	Indicative electricity demand target for commercial activity
WindCF	%	Estimated capacity factor for wind technologies
PopStartYear	people	Population in the base year of the analysis
ElecPop	people	Population assumed to have access to electricity
ElecPopCalib	people	Calibrated version of ElecPop at the start of the analysis
Pop20XX	people	Projected population in the year
ElecStart	0–1	Electrification status at start of analysis
GridDistCalibElec	km	Distance to nearest grid element after calibration
FinalElecCode20XX	0–99	Code defining technology providing electricity in base year
ElecPop20XX	people	Population assumed to have access to electricity in the year
ResidentialDemandTierX	kWh/hh/year	Indicative residential electricity demand target equal to Tier X
NumPeoplePerHH	people	Number of people per household
NewConnections20XX	people	Households that need to be electrified in the year
EnergyPerSettlement20XX	kWh	Estimated electricity demand target in the settlement
MG_Hydro20XX	USD/kWh	LCOE for mini-grid hydro
MG_PVHybrid20XX	USD/kWh	LCOE for mini-grid PV hybrid
MG_Wind20XX	USD/kWh	LCOE for mini-grid wind hybrid
SA_PV20XX	USD/kWh	LCOE for stand-alone PV (SHS)
Minimum_Tech_Off_grid20XX		Least-cost off-grid technology
Minimum_LCOE_Off_grid20XX	USD/kWh	Minimum off-grid LCOE
OffGridInvestmentCost20XX	USD	Investment cost for minimum off-grid technology
Grid20XX	USD/kWh	Grid LCOE
NewGridExtensionDist20XX	km	Grid extension distance
MinimumOverall20XX	tech abbreviation	Technology abbreviation in the step year
MinimumOverallLCOE20XX	USD/kWh	LCOE of the least-cost technology
MinimumOverallCode20XX	1–7	Code defining least-cost technology
InvestmentCost20XX	USD	Total investment required
InvestmentPerConnection20XX	USD/capita	Estimated investment per connection
ElecStatusIn20XX	0–1	Final electrification status
NewCapacity20XX	kW	Additional capacity required
TotalEnergyPerCell	kWh/year	Total electricity demand in settlement
Tier	1–5	Tier classification of consumption
Technology20XX		Technology used or “unelectrified”
AnnualEmissions2030	kg CO₂ eq./year	Estimated new emissions from new connections

Summaries output

The values in the summaries file provide summaries for the whole country/study area.

Variable	Description	Unit
Population	The population served by each technology in the year.	people
New Connections	The number of newly electrified households by each technology in the year.	households
Capacity	The additional capacity required by each technology to fully cover the demand in the year.	kW
Investment	The investment required by each technology to reach the electrification target in the year.	$

Visualization of Electrification Results in GIS

All images in this section are screenshots from QGIS 3.10 and QGIS 3.40, which are licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0), unless stated otherwise.

This section provides a guide to the basic steps required to visualize the results of an OnSSET electrification analysis in a QGIS environment. Please follow the step-by-step process below. If you have further questions, you can use the OnSSET forum for support.

Part 1 – Visualizing Results

Step 1. Importing the CSV Results File

After running your OnSSET analysis, you will obtain a .csv file containing the results. If this file is imported directly into a GIS environment, it will appear as a point layer.

However, for visualization purposes, it is usually preferable to display the results using the population clusters that were used in the analysis. The steps below explain how to join your results file to the cluster layer.

Import the CSV file

1. In QGIS, go to:

   Layer → Add Layer → Add Delimited Text Layer

Add Delimited Text Layer dialog in QGIS.

2. In the dialog window:

   • Under File format, make sure CSV (Comma separated values) is selected.

   • Verify the preview of the file at the bottom of the window.

3. Set the coordinate system and geometry:

   • Geometry CRS: WGS84

   • X field: X_Deg

   • Y field: Y_Deg

4. Click Add to load the layer.

CSV results file displayed as a point layer.

Once loaded (this may take some time), the layer should appear in the Layers Panel at the bottom-left of the screen.

Add the population cluster layer

Add the cluster layer that was used as the population layer during the extraction process:

• Go to Layer → Add Layer → Add Vector Layer, or

• Drag and drop the cluster file directly onto the map canvas.

Join the results to the clusters

To merge the results with the population clusters:

1. Open the Processing Toolbox.

2. Search for the tool Join Attributes by Field Value.

3. Configure the tool as follows:

   • Input layer: Population clusters

   • Table field: id

   • Input layer 2: Results CSV layer (e.g. Scenario_1_Results)

   • Table field 2: id

Configuration of the Join Attributes by Field Value tool.

4. Click Run.

A new layer will be created with the geometry of the clusters and the attributes from the CSV file.

Step 2. Displaying Useful Information in QGIS

At first, the joined layer will not convey much information visually. This can be improved using Symbology settings.

Categorized symbology

1. Right-click the joined layer in the Layers Panel and select Properties.

2. Open the Symbology tab.

3. Change the rendering type from Single symbol to Categorized.

Categorized symbology configuration.

4. For Value, select:

   Technology20XX

   (Replace XX with the year of interest.)

5. Click Classify to display all technology options used in the results.

Note

For a description of the output columns, see the Output Column Description above.

Note

Categorized is typically useful for visualization where there are a smaller number of distinct values, e.g. the choice of least-cost technology. For information that can take any value in an interval, e.g. Investment cost, Graduated is more suitable

Adjusting symbol appearance

To improve readability:

1. For each technology class, click the colored symbol.

2. Select Simple fill.

3. Set Fill color and Stroke color to the same value.

Adjusting fill and stroke colors.

Suggested color scheme

To match the Global Electrification Platform (GEP) color conventions, the following color codes are recommended:

GEP Code	Least Cost Technology	Suggested Color Hex
1	Existing grid	#4e53de
2	Grid extension	#a6aaff
3	SHS	#ffc700
5	PV hybrid mini-grid	#e628a0
6	Wind hybrid mini-grid	#1b8f4d
7	Hydro mini-grid	#28e66d
99	Unelectrified	#808080

Click Apply to render the map.

Part 2 – Creating Map Layouts

Creating a print layout

1. Open the Print Layout view:

   Project → New Print Layout

Creating a new print layout.

2. Enter a name for the layout and click OK.

Page setup

1. From the Layout menu, select Page setup.

2. Set:

   • Page size: A4

   • Orientation: Portrait or Landscape depending on the shape of your study area

3. On your left-hand side you have a number of different tools that you can use for opening maps and preparing your map

Adding the map

1. Select Add new map from the left-hand toolbar.

2. Click and drag on the page to define the map area.

Adding a map to the layout.

Editing layout items

Each item (map, legend, title, scale bar) can be edited via the Item Properties panel.

Editing layout item properties.

Add and arrange:

• Title

• Legend

• Scale bar

Exporting the map

Export the map as an image and save it on your computer.

Exporting the map layout.