Empowering rural India: expanding electricity access by mobilizing local resources
A new World Bank Report says decentralizing power generation and distribution to the local level through the distribution grid of the state utility by using renewable energy sources will help reduce prolonged outages and increase electricity supply in rural areas. If such sources replace kerosene and diesel for localized generation and supply, economic gains can be substantial, the report "Empowering Rural India: Expanding Electricity Access by Mobilizing Local Resources" suggests. Studies done in Radhanagiri subdivision in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra show that on an average a consumer gets only about 8-10 hours of electricity in a day. For domestic consumers, this amounts to a coping cost of Rs 11 per unit to meet just its lighting needs.