Abstract
Conventional grid extension has been the predominant mode of electrification in India. However, solar photovoltaic technology has also been used for providing electricity access in remote, forested habitations and islands. Under the Remote Village Electrification Programme by the Government of India, around 12,000 villages and hamlets have been electrified using renewable energy. The state of Chhattisgarh in Central India has alone been able to electrify around 1,400 remote and forested villages through solar mini-grids. This chapter attempts to examine the development and operation of the solar mini-grid model for enhancing electricity access in India, with special focus on the state of Chhattisgarh. The work, based on extensive literature review, interview with key stakeholders and field visits to selected remote forested villages in the state of Chhattisgarh, shares the experiences and lessons of the solar mini-grid programme for rural electrification in the state by comprehensively analysing multiple dimensions of the programme such as coverage and trend, technical designs, institutional arrangements, financial mechanism and operation and maintenance aspects, which were key to the success of the solar mini-grids. We observe that robust institutional arrangement, strong policy support and an effective maintenance and an oversight mechanism have been the key contributing factors for the success of this initiative.
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Notes
- 1.
Currently about 94Â % of the inhabited areas in India are covered through grid electrification [24].
- 2.
The districts affected by severe left wing extremism were not considered for field study due to security concerns.
- 3.
The Committee recommended decentralised generation (especially mini-grid mode) may be considered for remote area electrification and the decisions between grid connection and decentralised generation should be made on the basis of technical, managerial and economic issues, viz., distance from existing grid; load density, system losses and load management.
- 4.
The EA 2003 [29] made the government (both state and central) obligated to supply electricity to rural areas including villages and hamlets. Section 6 of the act mandates the hitherto implied Universal Service Obligation by stating that the government shall endeavour to supply electricity to all areas including villages and hamlets.
- 5.
Section 2(63) under Electricity Act 2003 [29] defines stand- alone system as the electricity system set up to generate power and distribute electricity in a specified area without connection to the grid;
- 6.
While there is no requirement to obtain a license to generate and distribute electricity in rural areas, this also implicitly means that off-grid operators do not get the benefit of cross-subsidisation that are normally extended to rural electricity consumers. Absence of regulatory interventions though have helped in setting up of off-grid projects by different proponents, at the same time, most of these projects set up in remote areas with low paying capacity of consumers become operationally unviable after some months of commissioning [20]. Further, in the absence of off-grid regulation, many projects are also set up without following necessary electrical safety standards (such as using bamboo poles for distribution line) to keep their installation cost low. And in some cases, the tariff is negotiated at much higher price than the prevailing rural electricity tariff.
- 7.
CSEB which was functioning as a vertically integrated power utility was unbundled into five companies in with effect from January 1, 2009.
- 8.
The electrification of all villages in the state is planned to be completed by end of 2014.
- 9.
At the time of 2011 Census survey in Chhattisgarh, there were only 18 districts, which increased to 27 in 2012.
- 10.
Grid extension through forests is not permitted in India as they may require the uprooting of forest trees for which necessary permission is required to be taken from the central government [17].
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Mr Shailendra Kumar Shukla, Director, CREDA, Mr Rajiv Gyani, Executive Engineer, CREDA and the CREDA district level officials from Raipur and Korba districts for providing secondary information on the various projects and sharing their insights with the TERI team.
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Palit, D., Sarangi, G.K., Krithika, P.R. (2014). Energising Rural India Using Distributed Generation: The Case of Solar Mini-Grids in Chhattisgarh State, India. In: Bhattacharyya, S., Palit, D. (eds) Mini-Grids for Rural Electrification of Developing Countries. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04816-1_12
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