Scaling Access to Electricity through Demand-driven Approaches

As recognition of the role of electricity in development has grown, there is an increasing focus on providing electricity services to all. On international and national levels numerous efforts are underway to expand access to clean, affordable and reliable energy services to those without access. The United Nations SE4All Program, for instance, aims to provide universal access to modern energy services by 2030. National governments are also developing ambitious targets for the attainment of universal access in line with these global imperatives.

In India, about 20 million households receive less than four hours of electricity per day (The Climate Group, 2015). The present Indian government has committed to providing 24*7 power for all by 2022. To achieve this goal, it launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (DDUGVY) in 2014. Though the DDUGVY appears to be making rapid progress, there is still uncertainty over the extent to which demand for electricity has been met. Electrification strategies are largely supply driven and the metric adopted is number of villages electrified.

Parallel to government efforts are a number of private initiatives to provide electricity access, such as the setting up of microgrids and the sale of solar-powered lamps and home systems. Rampant use of fuels like kerosene and diesel to meet energy requirements still continues. Much like the government efforts, these too tend to be supply driven.

In all of these efforts, issues pertaining to household electrification, reliability of supply, and the ability to use electricity to improve quality of life are often not discussed.

Through this day-long workshop, we hope to explore a bottom-up demand-driven approach to electricity supply. This workshop will examine how using bottom-up data can lead to the development of better plans, policies, and availability of finance to achieve improved quality of supply.

Agenda

9.30 am to 9.45 am: Welcome and introductions

9.45 am to 10.00 am: Overview of WRI’s Energy Access Initiative

10.00 am to 11.30 am: Panel Discussion on Bottom-up Electricity Planning Approaches

• Scaling Access to Electricity Services for Development: Elements of an Effective Demand-Driven Response
• Using LEAP to Achieve 100% Electricity Access: State and District Level Analysis from Rajasthan
• The Ecosystem Approach to Achieve Electricity Access

11.30 am to 11.45 am – Tea/Coffee

11.45 am to 1.00 pm – Presentation on Facilitating Investment for Pay as You Go Energy Access: Lessons for India followed by expert responses

1.00 pm to 2.00 pm - Lunch

2.00 pm to 2.30 pm – Presentation on Energy Access Maps for Udaipur

2.30 pm to 3.30 pm – Breakout Groups on Using Energy Access Maps from Different Stakeholders’ Perspectives

• Distributed Renewable Enterprise
• Solar Home System Retailer
• Planning Division in Distribution Utility Company
• State Health Department

3.30 pm to 4.00 pm – Participant Feedback on Energy Access Maps

4.00 pm to 4.15 pm – Conclusion

4.15 pm – Tea/Coffee

To register, click here. For more details, contact Sachi Aggarwal (SAggarwal@wri.org)