Anil K. Rajvanshi, Director,

Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI),

P.O. Box 44, PHALTAN-415523, Maharashtra, INDIA

e-mail : nariphaltan@sancharnet.in

It is a matter of shame for all of us that even 56 years after independence, 63% of all rural households in India do not have electricity and use kerosene for lighting. Even for those rural areas, which are electrified, there is a tremendous shortage of power supply. Thus it is not uncommon for these areas to have 10-15 hours of blackouts and brownouts every day. There is a shortfall of about 15-20,000 MW of electricity in the country and we require about 140,000 MW of additional capacity by 2010 with an estimated outlay of Rs. 5,50,000 crores. Because of tremendous shortage of electricity, industrial growth and general life in the country is seriously affected. Moreover with any problems in the national grid, rural areas are affected the most, since the State Electricity Boards (SEB) provide urban areas with electricity on priority basis.

However the recently enacted Electricity Act 2003, which allows for the first time in India a private utility to produce and distribute power, provides a glimmer of hope not only for the country but more so for the rural areas. Hence small rural private and cooperative power utilities can be empowered to quickly and efficiently supply electricity.

Work done at the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute in Phaltan, Maharashtra has shown that each Taluka in the country produces enough agricultural residues so that all its electricity demands can be met by using them in 10-20 MW biomass-based power plants. The NARI study also showed that besides providing power, the Taluka energy self-sufficiency plan could also create 30,000 jobs/year. With the new Electricity Act, Taluka energy self sufficiency can become a reality since the utility can produce and supply power to its customers without the need to go through SEBs. The Taluka utility company can also lease the existing transmission and distribution infrastructure of SEBs so that it need not invest in developing its own. This will also help the SEBs to get regular income from their infrastructure. NARI study also showed that Taluka energy program can produce Rs. 100-crores/year wealth for its inhabitants in terms of biomass production and setting up of new electricity-based industries. With about 3500 talukas in the country it is therefore possible to produce about Rs. 3,50,000 crores/year extra wealth through the Taluka program.

Recently the Prime Minister has set up the Rural Electricity Supply Technology (REST) mission in the Ministry of Power (MOP). It is hoped through this mission to electrify all villages by 2010. According to MOP officials funds of about Rs. 10-15,000 crores will be made available to the rural power utilities at 2-2.5% p.a. interest rate. With the new Electricity Act and this type of funding it becomes very attractive for microutilities to come up in rural areas. Thus it is envisaged that a small rural power cooperative can be set up to produce 200-500 KW_e of power and supply all the electricity demands of one or two villages. Again this utility can lease the existing SEB power line infrastructure for its purposes. The state government can also explore the possibility of allowing SEBs to lease these lines and provide standby power to rural microutility at substantially lower rates so that the state's social obligations to rural areas is also met. NARI has recently suggested this concept to Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC). It is also envisaged that electric cooperatives may function on the lines of TV cable operators in rural areas.

However for small power packs of 500 KW_e and less to function smoothly in rural areas it is necessary that they be powered by fuel from locally available resources. This will make these microutilities green and will create wealth in rural areas in producing value-added item. Thus there is a need to do sophisticated R & D in producing biofuels from renewable energy sources like agriculture residues and crops specifically grown for them. These biofuels can easily power the existing diesel gensets. Development of liquid fuels like ethanol and biodiesel from multipurpose crops should be done so that the issue of food and fuel from the same piece of land is taken care of. NARI has done pioneering work in developing sweet sorghum for ethanol production. Sweet sorghum can provide food, fuel and fodder from the same piece of land and requires much less water than sugarcane. Thus the Government of India should extensively fund the R & D program on biofuels.

Finally for the rural electricity supply mission to succeed it is necessary that a very close cooperation between corporate sector, government and NGOs is needed. The corporate sector can provide the necessary technological and managerial support, NGOs can create the necessary trust in such utilities and Government of India can help provide soft financing through its many rural development programs. An energy self sufficient and hence prosperous rural India will be the first step in making us a developed nation.

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