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Context
Getting affordable electricity to every household needs sustained policy support
What has happened?
Census data for 2001 and 2011 indicate that the number of rural households that use electricity as their primary source of lighting rose by about 12 percentage points to 55.3%, while in that decade urban households rose five points to 92.7%
Statistics conceal disparities
- Actual number of households in villages that have power connections, the number of hours they get reliable power, and the per capita power that rural and urban Indians consume.
- Due to infrastructure deficits and administrative inefficiency the Power for All 24×7 goal adopted by States and Union Territories with a deadline of April 1, 2019 is far from realistic e.g. the average hours of power supplied in a day to rural areas in January 2018 ranged from 11.5 in Mizoram, 14.91 in Haryana and 17.72 in Uttar Pradesh to 24 hours in Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
What needs to be done?
- The answer may lie in a hybrid solution that ensures continued scaling up of both grid-connected and standalone solar systems in appropriate areas, augmenting conventional sources of electricity, with a clear emphasis on rooftop solutions for cities
- Cheaper renewables will enable differential pricing for households in remote areas, a key determinant of wider social benefits of electricity
Conclusion
Rural electrification in India has been a long effort, achieving rapid growth from the Third Plan to the Twelfth Plan, but getting affordable power to every household needs sustained policy support.
