chhattisgarh's rural electrification story

A Chhattisgarh government initiative has succeeded in electrifying many remote villages with solar energy where other states have failed

Around 50 villages in Chhattisgarh’s Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, that are not connected to the national grid because they are in a remote area, have been enjoying the benefits of electrification since 2003 under the Remote Village Electrification Programme of the Union Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

The four-kilowatt solar power plant that provides seven hours of electricity every day to all 75 households and lanes in Deba village, in the Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, for instance, generates 28 units (1 unit=1 kWh) of electricity a day.

The technology for such projects is simple and the source of power abundant, making it the obvious choice for electrification in rural areas. Yet solar off-grid projects under the programme have not been as successful as expected across the country. Chhattisgarh is an exception with 1,400 solar-powered villages.

The failure of the system is said to be due to poor maintenance and lack of monitoring. Equipment has been stolen or is lying defunct in several states. In Kalahandi district of Orissa, for example, the government installed solar home lighting and street lighting systems in 40 villages in 2009. A survey by Desi Technology Solutions, a consultancy firm in Bhubaneswar, reveals that the system in 30 villages became defunct within a year.

Chhattisgarh experienced much the same problems initially. In 2003, the Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) installed solar home lighting systems in 500 villages. The system is an assembly of solar panels, cables, an inverter, a battery and two 11 Watt CFLs.

“Half of the panels got stolen within a year. Some (people) even sold them or mortgaged them for money,” says S K Shukla, director of CREDA. A survey in 2004 showed that of the 617 solar modules installed in tribal hostels, ashrams and primary health centres, 500 were stolen. And so CREDA opted for micro-grids.

A solar module of 37 W costs Rs 14,000. With the 90% subsidy provided by MNRE, each module costs the state Rs 2,750. Compare this with the cost of setting up a micro-grid (solar photovoltaic power plant and transmission cables) per household, which is approximately Rs 25,000. The state shells out about three times more for a micro-grid than a solar home lighting system.

“Micro-grids require more investment from the state exchequer because the subsidy by MNRE is limited (90% of the installation cost or Rs 18,000, whichever is more). But they prevent theft and require minimal maintenance,” says Shukla. CREDA organisation installed the first micro-grid in 2004.

CREDA started electrifying villages in two ways. Micro-grids were installed in big concentrated villages (of the 1,400 solar-powered villages, 500 have micro-grids of a total installed capacity of 2.35 MW, providing electricity to over 35,000 households), while in villages and hamlets where houses are scattered solar home lighting systems were installed as it was not feasible to invest in wiring over long distances.

The problem of maintenance remained and to tackle it CREDA envisaged a three-tier system: a local operator from the village to carry out simple repairs and clean the solar modules, for which he receives Rs 5 from every household; a contractor appointed by CREDA who employs technicians to service a cluster of 10-15 villages and carries out regular servicing of batteries and invertors and more serious repairs; and CREDA itself. The contractor-appointed technician files a monthly report on the status of all the work he has done and is paid Rs 25 per household per month by the state government. CREDA monitors all installations through the monthly reports and replaces faulty equipment.

The system works well when the demand for power is limited. If villagers begin to use TV sets and other electrical equipment it proves inadequate. Under the programme, a 37 W solar system is provided to a family, which does not even meet the minimum electricity requirement of 1 unit a day mentioned in the Electricity Act. 

Despite this, demand is growing in the state of Chhattisgarh. A solar power distributor in Sarguja district says sales have increased almost five times in the past seven years -- from Rs 15-20 lakh in 2004 to Rs 4 crore this year. Solar power is not used only in remote areas but augments grid power too in many places.

Solar power is clearly a viable option to hasten the electrification of India without involving environment-destroying and capital-intensive costs. How well governments use it remains the crucial question. :)