The report compares the electricity supply scenarios among rural
and urban areas in five states in India (1). All villages covered
in the report had power supply for less than 12 hours a day while
cities and towns had supply between 22 and 24 hours. "India's rural
population is suffering due to poor quality of supply or no supply
even in areas that officially have electrification," said Shankar
Sharma, author of the report. "Urban areas have almost 100%
electrification, and some areas are even reaching the per capita
consumption levels of developed countries. This is a case of sheer
social and energy injustice. India needs to change its energy
plans, or "Electricity for All" will only remain a promise," he
said.
The current electricity production model in India is extremely
carbon-intensive, emitting more than two times CO2 per
kilowatt-hour than in the EU. Electricity is responsible for about
58% of India's CO2 emissions related to energy (2).
The report highlights how the grid-based centralised electricity
generation system has failed to meet the basic energy needs of the
majority of India's rural population. "The government tries to
justify the demand for a larger carbon space to enable development
of the poor. However, even after 62 years of Independence, the
centralised, grid-based model has not delivered to our rural
population," said Vinuta Gopal, Climate & Energy campaigner,
Greenpeace India.
Civil society groups from around the country which discussed
this report and participated in seminars on India's energy
situation have opined that the Government must bring in policy
changes to ensure green and sustainable energy access to people
through a decentralised approach. They also expressed their views
against fossil-fuel based energy production and instead demanded
government to invest in, research, and develop renewable energy
sources.
"The government's Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutkaran Yojana (Rural
Electrification Programme) is failing to meet its objectives.
Whether it is large dams, nuclear power plants, or coal-fired
thermal power plants, the high social costs are borne by rural
India, while the benefits go to the cities. A fossil-fuel based
centralised electricity generation plan has huge economic, social
and environmental impacts. It is an inequitable and unsustainable
pathway. Decentralised energy generation, on the other hand, can
make our villages the power houses of the future and reduce India's
carbon emissions," Gopal said.
A renewable source-based electricity generation model
drastically reduces GHG emissions and ensures power to the poor.
Decentralised energy systems include rooftop photo voltaic solar
panels, solar water heaters, and community-based biomass and wind
turbine systems.
"To achieve social justice and ensure climate change mitigation,
India must adopt a decentralised energy model based on renewable
sources," said Ms.Gopal. "If the government wants "Power to All by
2012" to become a reality, it must start protecting the interests
of the poor and not the rich," Gopal said.
For further information, contact
Ankur Toby Ganguly, Communications Manager +91 98453 73818 
Seema Javed, Sr. Communications Officer +91 99100 59765 
Vinuta Gopal, Climate and Energy Campaigner +91 98455 35418 
Shankar Sharma, Consultant, Electricity industry +91 94482 72503 
Notes to Editor
(1) The study was conducted in Orissa, Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. In each state, a tier A and tier B city, and three villages were surveyed
(2) World Resources Institute