A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON VILLAGE...

(An internship programme under the ENVIS Centre-ASSAM)

SUBMITED BY:- Panchali Borthakur Upasana Talukdar

Karabi Saikia (Department of Physics)

Of Handique Girls’ College

Pan Bazar, Guwahati, Assam – 781001

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON VILLAGE ELECTRIFICATION OF ASSAM

CertifiCate This is to certify that Panchali Borthakur, Upasana Talukdar,

Karabi Saikia of B. Sc., Six Semester of Department of Physics,

Handique Girls' College, Panbazar, Guwahati, Assam have successfully

completed the internship programme under the Assam ENVIS Centre,

under Assam Science Technology and Environment Council.

During their tenure of study they have prepared the report sincerely.

I am pleased to forward the report and wish that they bring laurels to

our college.

Date: 01.02.2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our heartiest to the ENVIS Centre - Assam under Assam Science Technology & Environment Council (ASTEC) for giving us the opportunity to undertake a study of “District Wise Electrification of Number of Villages in Assam”. We are grateful for having a chance to meet so any wonderful people and professionals who led us through this internship period.

Firstly, we are grateful to Dr. Arup Kumar Misra, Director, Assam Science Technology & Environment Council (ASTEC) for giving us the opportunity to do internship under their esteemed organization. Secondly we are grateful to Sri Jaideep Baruah, Head, Environmental Division and ENVIS coordinator who in spite of being extraordinarily busy with his duties, took time out to guide us to carry our project. We express our deepest thanks to Ms Manisha Sarmah and Mr Samiran Kalita of ENVIS Centre-Assam, for taking part in useful decisions and giving necessary advices and guidance without which it would not have been possible to complete the report. Lastly we are very thankful to our Professor Mr. Nabajit Dutta, Department of Physics, Handique Girls’ College for supporting us to the internship in the ENVIS Centre of Assam.

We perceive this opportunity as a big milestone in our career development. We will strive to use the gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and will continue to work on their improvement in order to attain desired career objectives. Hope to continue cooperation with all of you in the future.

Sincerely,

Panchali Borthakur

Upasana Talukdar

Karabi Saikia

Contents

Aim and Objective of the study

Study Area

Introduction

Result analysis and Discussions

Conclusion

Reference

Aim and Objectives of the study:

The present study is focusing exclusively on rural electrification

and aim to provide a comparative study on rural electrification process in our State

To draw conclusions and to find recommendations which are based on an analysis of the rural electrification programmes of the state Assam

To find out the drawbacks, challenges and how to overcome it; where we can utilise sources of energy which is easily available and accessible

Study Area : ASSAM

Comprising of valleys, hills and the perennial River of Brahmaputra, Assam geography presents a fact file of the locational traits of the state. Assam shares its internal boundaries with West Bengal, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, while Bangladesh and China surrounds the international contours of the state. The statistical figures state that the total Assam Area covers 78, 523 sq. km. Adorned by beautiful valleys, rivers and plains, the state of Assam is set on the north-eastern front of India. The forest lands occupy a major part of Assam's area. Brahmaputra River makes the agricultural area of the state more fertile. Placed on the foothills of the majestic Himalaya, Assam is bounded by several national and international destinations. From Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram to West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Bangladesh, the Assam area is a rich reserve of natural treasures. The area of Assam is known for its wide-spread tea plantation farms. The production of fine quality tea leaf, lead to the generation of highest amount of revenues for the state. Also, the people who are engaged with the numerous tea estates constitute a major share of the population of Assam. This in turn indicates the large number of employment opportunities for the local people of Assam state.

The land area of Assam available for cultivation purposes involves a large share of the total geographical space of the state. Jhum farming is the widely practiced occupation of almost all the peasants of Assam. In the recent past, due to the emergence of several industrial units within the area of Assam, signs of soil erosion have been noticed. In order to prevent the fertile lands of the state from such damage, the Soil conservation Department under the aegis of the Assam Government has started taking significant steps. As a whole, the Area of Assam, from its pre-historic periods to its present day state, provides a rich and changing geographical trait.

INTRODUCTION

In the humanitarian ground peoples have the same right to health care, education and economic development. Access to electricity is necessary for modern economic and social development. Electricity opens the door to a host of technologies that promote education, public health, and economic development (for example: emissions-free light, refrigeration, and communication devices). Without electricity, communities are unable to participate in the benefits of modern advances and may left isolate, literally in the dark. Electricity is a cornerstone of these activities, then one must also accept that indigenous cultures have the same right to electricity that the rest of us do. Electricity can provide the tools and allowing the other basic services. Peoples consume and exploit energy resources for the purposes of heating, cooking, lighting and for a myriad of other purposes. Electricity is a higher form of energy than heat and has the versatility to be used to generate heat, turn a motor, communicate over great distances and generate efficient light. For many applications, electricity simply does the job more efficiently; electricity is the only feasible energy form.

The rapid urbanization, infrastructure and industrial development in India has result in the growth of electricity demand in the country. Among the total electricity consumption, domestic and commercial categories form sizeable part. Therefore, the availability of the trend growth of electricity consumption is a vital input for fixing the priorities. The Central Electricity Authority data shows that the Northeast part of India has hydro power potential of 63,257 MW or 43 % of the total assessed hydro power of the country. Among the north-eastern states, Assam has the capacity to produce 680 MW hydro powers.

As a part of the Assam Power Sector Development Programme and in pursuance of the Indian Electricity Act 2003, the Government of Assam has set in motion the process of unbundling the Assam State Electricity Board in 2004 into following government companies:

o The Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL) o The Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Limited (AEGCL) o The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL)

These initiatives are in the interest of all the stakeholders in the electricity sector of the State i.e. consumers, shareholders, suppliers, creditors, infrastructure builders and the Government of Assam. The schemes like externally aid project, rural electrification, accelerated power development and reform programme (APDRP) which are yet being executed under Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB).

The Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL) was constituted to look after power generation in the State. The final Transfer Scheme was implemented in August 2005. The company is mainly responsible for development of Thermal & Hydel Power Projects to generate electricity to meet the energy demand in the State to the extent feasible.

The present installation capacity of APGCL is 376.7 MW of which LTPS = 157.2 MW, NTPS = 119.5 MW & KLHEP = 100 MW.

INSTALLED CAPACITY AND GENERATION OF POWER CAPACITY OF ASSAM

The present status of power generation in the State is not satisfactory from the point of power requirement of consumers in concerned. The installed capacity of generating plant at present in the State is 376.7 MW which includes Coal, Hydel and Gas plants of the State. There has been always shortage of power supply in the state in comparison to its demand. However, the ASEB has been trying to meet the power shortage by importing power from other sources. However, according to Economic Survey of Assam 2013-14 the gross power generation in the State during the year 2013–14 has shown improvement by generating 1845.3 MW or 4.5 % more compared to gross power generated in the previous year i.e., 2012 – 13 [1765.3 MV].

The installed capacity of various generating plants and the generation of power in the state during the last ten years are shown below:

INSTALLED CAPACITY AND GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY IN ASSAM

TYPE 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

2009-10

2010-11 2011-12 2012-13

A. INSTALLED CAPACITY OF GENERATING PLANT (MW) THERMA

L 300.0 300.0 300.0 60.0 60.0 60.0 60.0 60.0 60.0 60.0

HYDEL 2.0 2.0 2.0 102.0 102.0 102.0 102.0 102.0 100.0 100.0 GAS 272.4 272.4 272.4 253.5 239.5 239.5 239.5 239.5 239.5 239.5 TOTAL 574.4 574.4 574.4 415.5 401.5 401.5 401.5 401.5 376.7 376.7

B. GROSS UNIT GENERATION (MU) THERMA

L Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil

HYDEL Nil Nil Nil 15.438 510.181 434.4 401.91

409.492 454.9 344.0

GAS 710.669 756.435 808.047 852.101 1031.136

1248.420

1310.30

1298.270

1317.4 1421.3

TOTAL 710.669 756.435 808.047 867.539 1541.317

1682.820

1712.21

1707.762

1772.3 1765.3

C. AUX CONSUMPTION (MU)

THERMAL

NIL NIL Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil

HYDEL NIL NIL Nil 0.002 0.985 0.788 0.821 0.796 2.3 1.7 GAS 33.480 35.494 39.571 41.358 42.198 52.162 86.01 61.324 98 139.3 TOTAL 33.480 35.494 39.571 41.360 43.183 52.950 88.02 62.12 100.3 133.6

(Source: Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd.)

ELECTRICITY CONSUMERS:

The population census of India, 2011 report reveal that 37.0 percent households of Assam are using electricity as a source of lighting compared to 67.0 % households of all India. The rural-urban differential of use of electricity as a source is very high in Assam. Only 28.0 percent rural households compared to 84.1 percent urban households in Assam are using electricity as a source of lighting.

Households Using Electricity as Source of Lighting: ITEM ASSAM INDIA

RURAL URBAN TOTAL RURAL URBAN TOTAL

TOTAL 53,74,553 9,92,742 63,67,295 16,78,26,730 7,88,65,937 24,66,92,667

ELECTRICITY 15,24,221 8,34,679 23,58,900 9,28,08,038 7,30,89,256 16,58,97,294

HOUSEHOLDS USING

ELECTRICITY(%)

28.0 84.1 37.0 55.0 93.0 67.0

(Source: Annual report 2013-14, (Power and Energy Division), Planning Commission of India)

According to the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited, the number of consumers in the state has increased by 37.0 % during the period 2010-2014. The growth of domestic consumer during the same period was 41.0 %. On the other hand the growth of commercial consumers during the period was erratic. However, the growth of commercial consumer in 2013 – 2014 was 7.5 percent over the previous year.

Total Number of Consumers

Year Domestic Commercial Total 2010 – 2011 1655207 166399 1821606 2011 – 2012 1811129 172310 2036429 2012 – 2013 2130992 181781 2312773 2013 – 2014 2330093 168167 2498260

(Source: Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd.)

To meet the shortage of electricity generation of its own sources and to meet the growing demand of the consumers in the State power distribution company has been purchasing electricity from different sources / agencies.

ELECTRICITY PURCHASED BY ASSAM FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES AGENCIES:

(Source: Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd.)

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION:

Rural electrification is the key for accelerating rural development as electricity is essential to cater to requirements of home lighting, agriculture, rural industries, khadi and village industries, healthcare, education, information technology etc. Assam has about 87% of the State’s population living in rural areas.

Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. As the Rural Electrification Policy notified by the Ministry of Power, Government of India aims to achieve the goals of provision of access to electricity to all households, quality and reliable power supply at reasonable rates and minimum lifeline consumption of 1 unit per household par day as a merit good. The policy also envisages that for the purpose of rural electrification, a village would mean a census village. A comprehensive programme viz. Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) has been launched by the Central Government to achieve above goals. Also, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India has undertaken implementation of remote village electrification through Non-Conventional Energy Sources.

Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vaidutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), a scheme for attaching the goal of provides access to electricity to un-electrified (UE) villages and to provide BPL connection to Already Electrified (AE) villages in the state. In Assam, implementation of the RGGVY was started in April 2007. The status of village electrification in Assam before implementation of RGGVY was as on 31.03.2007 as: Number of villages electrified was 18567, percentage of villages electrified was 74, number of un-electrified villages was 8406, number of remote villages was 2202 and the total number of villages electrified as per 2001 census was 25124.

YEAR

AGENCIES/SOURCES Central sector

APGCL OTPC Pallatana

DLF(IPP)

Meghalaya Electricity Corpn. Ltd

Non-Conv.& Ors

IOCL(AOD)

UI/ Deviation mech.

Trading purchase

Total

2011-12

3530.21 1690.03 o 58.49 19.1 6.79 15.33 72.88 572.38 5965.21

2012-13

3464.87 1631.6 0 28.84 19.07 8.34 23.45 0 864.02 6040.19

2013-14

3633.87 1728.31 202.63 0 20.22 37.08 25.04 239.42 1078.46 6965.03

Fig: Lighting sources of rural household in India

(Source: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/let-solar-shine-39684)

Technology used in village electrification

Since modern power distribution networks can cheaply include electricity transfer wires and poles. The technology used for rural electrification is least expensive, most reliable, and best proven electricity distribution systems. This system is widely used with the necessary geographical requirements.

Benefits of Village Electrification:

Rural electrification or village electrification is one of the main requirements for a State like Assam where major population of approximately 70% living in rural areas

The expansion of electricity services and electrification are vital to both the economic and social development of a region

Electricity is used not only for lighting and household purposes, but it also allows for mechanization of other operations.

People don’t have burden to maintain them and it even don’t have any adverse effect to environment or society.

Electricity is a reliable and quality of power. Small amounts of electricity can free large amounts of human time and labour In the urban areas, people carry their activities in day-night time which is limited to

rural areas due to unavailable power supply Evening lighting can lengthen a community's daylight hours allowing more time for

productivity Electric-powered wells, tube wells for clean water can prevent many water-borne

diseases and the water supply Refrigerators or other electronic appliances can comfort the lifestyle in rural areas

PROGRESS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF RGGVY: (as on 31-1-2014)

Implementing

agency Target Achievement

UE AE BPL UE AE BPL APDCL 6867 9483 1051774 6633 9216 880399

PGCIL 1549 3548 182373 1486 3397 185763

Total 8416 13031 1234147 8119 12613 1066162

Solar Rural Electrification: Solar power as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean,

produces no greenhouse gas emission during operation. 26 numbers of such solar energy projects have already been identified by APDCL all over the state. These solar generators will be located in inaccessible areas and will generate and will feed power to the villages/hamlets. Remote villages in hill and backward districts, public buildings like hospitals and educational institutions etc., are the beneficiaries.

\

District-wise number of villages electrified in Assam in the year 2003-04

Districts No of inhabitant villages in 2001 census

No. of villages electrified

Dhubri 1261 1057

Kokrajhar 951 840

Bongaigaon 761 817

Goalpara 881 707

Barpeta 1050 948

Nalbari 798 800

Kamrup 1342 1234

Darrang 1319 1219

Sonitpur 1784 1428

Lakhimpur 1139 855

Dhemaji 1236 343

Morigaon 592 433

Nagaon 1375 1250

Golaghat 1066 661

Jorhat 787 615

Sibsagar 866 819

Dibrugarh 1309 1137

Tinsukia 1107 825

Karbi Anglong 2633 1042

North Cachar Hills 605 261

Karimganj 915 535

Hailakandi 327 290

Cachar 1020 923

TOTAL

25124

19039

District-wise number of villages electrified in Assam in the year

2004-2005

Districts No of inhabitant villages in 2001

census


Dhubri 1261 1057

Kokrajhar 951 842

Bongaigaon 761 825

Goalpara 881 707

Barpeta 1050 950

Nalbari 798 793

Kamrup 1342 1236

Darrang 1319 1236

Sonitpur 1784 1447

Lakhimpur 1139 888

Dhemaji 1236 390

Morigaon 592 446

Nagaon 1375 1266

Golaghat 1066 677

Jorhat 787 655

Sibsagar 866 829

Dibrugarh 1309 1149

Tinsukia 1107 824



Karimganj 915 547

Hailakandi 327 296

Cachar 1020 939

TOTAL

25124

19306


Districts No of inhabitant villages in 2001 census


Dhubri 1261 1008 Kokrajhar 951 881 Bongaigaon 761 839

Goalpara 881 361 Barpeta 1050 791 Nalbari 798 793 Kamrup 1342 1177 Darrang 1319 1211 Sonitpur 1784 1134

Lakhimpur 1139 677 Dhemaji 1236 342

Morigaon 592 477 Nagaon 1375 1200

Golaghat 1066 625 Jorhat 787 655

Sibsagar 866 838 Dibrugarh 1309 1161 Tinsukia 1107 824

Karbi Anglong 2633 1046 North Cachar Hills 605 261

Karimganj 915 591 Hailakandi 327 254

Cachar 1020 922

TOTAL

25124

18168


Districts No of inhabitant villages in

2001 census


Dhubri 1261 782

Kokrajhar 951 480

Bongaigaon 761 361

Goalpara 881 501

Barpeta 1050 789

Nalbari 798 653

Kamrup 1342 927

Darrang 1319 1086

Sonitpur 1784 1096

Lakhimpur 1139 503

Dhemaji 1236 294

Morigaon 592 321

Nagaon 1375 1014

Golaghat 1066 509

Jorhat 787 472

Sibsagar 866 761

Dibrugarh 1309 1032

Tinsukia 1107 725



Karimganj 915 660

Hailakandi 327 242

Cachar 1020 749

TOTAL

25124

14516


Districts No of inhabitant

villages in 2001 census


Dhubri 1261 782

Kokrajhar 951 480

Bongaigaon 761 361

Goalpara 881 501

Barpeta 1050 789

Nalbari 798 653

Kamrup 1342 927

Darrang 1319 1086

Sonitpur 1784 1096

Lakhimpur 1139 503

Dhemaji 1236 294

Morigaon 592 321

Nagaon 1375 1014

Golaghat 1066 509

Jorhat 787 472

Sibsagar 866 761

Dibrugarh 1309 1032

Tinsukia 1107 725



Karimganj 915 660

Hailakandi 327 242

Cachar 1020 749

TOTAL

25124

14516

Districts No of inhabitant

villages in 2001 census


Dhubri 1261 782

Kokrajhar 951 480

Bongaigaon 761 501

Goalpara 881 652

Barpeta 1050 789

Nalbari 798 653

Kamrup 1342 927

Darrang 1319 1086

Sonitpur 1784 1096

Lakhimpur 1139 503

Dhemaji 1236 294

Morigaon 592 321

Nagaon 1375 1014

Golaghat 1066 509

Jorhat 787 472

Sibsagar 866 761

Dibrugarh 1309 1032

Tinsukia 1107 984



Karimganj 915 660

Hailakandi 327 242

Cachar 1020 749

TOTAL

25124

15066

District – wise number of villages electrified in Assam in the year 2009 – 2010

Districts

Number of inhabited villages

2001 census

Number of villages electrified

Dhubri

1261 813

Kokrajhar 951 422

Bongaigaon 761 545

Goalpara 881 710

Barpeta 1050 803

Nalbari 798 673

Kamrup 1342 949

Darrang 1319 1109

Sonitpur 1784 974

Lakhimpur 1139 530

Dhemaji 1236 383

Morigaon 592 371

Nagaon 1375 1006

Golaghat 1066 923

Jorhat 787 768

Sivasagar 866 365

Dibrugarh 1309 731

Tinsukia 1107 1075

Karbi – Anglong 2633 805

N.C.Hills 605 163

Karimganj 915 462

Hailakandi 327 277

Cachar 1020 890

TOTAL 25124 15747

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200 NO. OF VILLAGES ELECTRIFIED 2009-2010


Districts

Number of inhabited villages 2001

census


Dhubri 1261 1100

Kokrajhar

951 515

Bongaigaon 761 793

Goalpara 881 710

Barpeta 1050 926

Nalbari 798 726

Kamrup 1342 1130

Darrang 1319 1258

Sonitpur 1784 1386

Lakhimpur 1139 927

Dhemaji 1236 679

Morigaon 592 448

Nagaon 1375 1213

Golaghat 1066 1012

Jorhat 787 769

Sivasagar 866 431

Dibrugarh 1309 837

Tinsukia 1107 1075

Karbi - Anglong 2633 1740

N.C.Hills 605 272

Karimganj

915 584

Hailakandi

327 308

Cachar

1020 890

TOTAL 25124 19729


Districts

Number of inhabited villages

2011 census


Dhubri

1091 1226

Kokrajhar

1068 754

Bongaigaon

1071 836

Goalpara

829 741

Barpeta

835 998

Nalbari

1146 739

Kamrup

1284 1292

Darrang

1361 1305

Sonitpur

1876 1542

Lakhimpur

1184 1082

Dhemaji

1319 1023

Morigaon

632 468

Nagaon

1412 1317

Golaghat

1125 1032

Jorhat

848 769

Sivasagar

875 452

Dibrugarh

1348 1035

Tinsukia

1168 1075

Karbi – Anglong

2921 2211

N.C.Hills

695 445

Karimganj

936 749

Hailakandi

331 313

Cachar

1040 890

TOTAL 26395 22294


Districts

Number of inhabited villages 2011 census


Dhubri

1091 1226

Kokrajhar

1068 806

Bongaigaon

1071 838

Goalpara

829 741

Barpeta

835 998

Nalbari

1146 798

Kamrup

1284 1293

Darrang

1361 1305

Sonitpur

1876 1542

Lakhimpur

1184 1087

Dhemaji

1319 1027

Morigaon

632 474

Nagaon

1412 1327

Golaghat

1125 1032

Jorhat

848 769

Sivasagar

875 452

Dibrugarh

1348 1035

Tinsukia

1168 1075

Karbi – Anglong

2921 2252

N.C.Hills

695 482

Karimganj

936 758

Hailakandi

331 313

Cachar

1040 890

TOTAL 26395 22520

Result Analysis and Discussion

Electrification in our country is a growing matter of concern for all. Electricity is used not only for lighting and household purposes, but it also allows for mechanization of other operations. Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural electrification is one of the main requirements for a State like Assam with major population of approximately above 70% living in rural areas. In India the village is said to be electrified if electricity is used in inhabited locality within the revenue boundary of the village for any reason what-so ever.

Rural household without access to electricity and the expansion of electricity services and electrification are vital to both the economic and social development of India. The present sources of energy it is difficult to make the electricity available to the people belonging to rural areas. The central and state govt. have been initiated many schemes/projects to provide subsidy and equipment like solar lantern and solar cooker etc. to the rural population which turn out to be effective in comparison to the past decade.

INSTALLED CAPACITY: As on Statistical Handbook of Assam, 2003-04 and 2012-13 the installed capacity of generating plant in the state was 574.4 MW and 376.7 MW respectively. Thus the installed capacity in the state has decreased by 65.58% during the period 2003-2013.

GROSS UNIT GENERATION: According to Economic Survey of Assam 2012-13, the gross power generation in the state during the year 2012-2013 has shown improvement by generating 1765.3 MU compared to gross power generated in the year 2003-04 during which 710.669 MU were generated. Thus, the gross unit generation has significantly increased by 40.2% during the period 2003-13.

CONSUMPTION: The AUX Consumption in the state according to Statistical

Handbook of Assam 2003-04 and 2012-13 respectively was 33.480 MU and 133.6 MU. Hence consumption of electricity during the period 2003-13 showed an increment by 25%.

YEARWISE ANALYSIS OF VILLAGES ELECTRIFIED:

YEAR Percentage of villages electrified

District in which electrification is

maximum

District in which electrification is

minimum 2003-04 77.13 Sonitpur North Cachar Hills 2004-05 77 Sonitpur North Cachar Hills 2005-06 72 Darrang Hailakandi 2006-07 57.78 Sonitpur North Cachar Hills 2007-08 57.77 Sonitpur North Cachar Hills 2008-09 59.96 Sonitpur North Cachar Hills 2009-10 62.67 Darrang North Cachar Hills 2010-11 78.52 Karbi-Anglong North Cachar Hills 2011-12 84.46 Karbi-Anglong Hailakandi 2012-13 85.31 Karbi-Anglong Hailakandi

As per 2011 census no of inhabited villages of the State are 26,395. As on Statistical Handbook of Assam 2012-13, 22,520 villages have been electrified through conventional grid. Thus the percentage of total villages electrified so far is about 85.31%. However, only 14.68% of the total households in these inhabited villages have no electricity connection. While 85.31% of households in the already electrified 26,395 villages rest villages are still deprived of electricity, 3875 villages are still to see the light of electricity. Thus a number of households in the State do not have electricity and use kerosene for lighting. Even the electrified villages are facing a tremendous shortage of power supply. It is common fact for these areas to have 10-15 hours of blackouts and brownouts in day to day life of a family.

Again, a total number of 2145 un-electrified villages (identified by ASEB) have been identified as remote where supply of electricity through conventional grid is either not possible or not feasible. So, the great task ahead to provide electricity to 100% households in 100% in near future to ensuring accessibility and availability of electricity to every households of the State.

The un-electrified villages, which have been identified as remote where supply of electricity either not possible or not feasible. These villages are non-feasible for grid power supply, for electrification of these villages, non-conventional and renewable energy is the appropriate solution. There is immense potential for development in non-conventional and renewable energy sector in Assam specifically in respect of electrification of remote un-electrified villages by decentralized solar photovoltaic systems, small and microhydel projects, biomass gasification, water heating through solar thermal, etc. identified the potentiality of three renewable sources of energy specifically for electrification of remote villages, viz., small hydro, biomass gasification and solar photovoltaic.

The ASEB has so far identified 93 small hydro sites with a total potential of 159.37 MW and it seems the potentiality of tapping small hydropower in these districts to electrify some remote villages. Lack of electricity as well as and poor quality electric power will hamper in daily life of a family. It is obvious that the number of people without power was growing until the late 1980s when rural electrification programs, particularly in Assam outpaced the growth of population. Many people in the State still lacked household electric power.

Similarly, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India is implementing various programme for providing financial support for electrification of those remote unelectrified census villages and hamlets of electrified census villages where grid-extension is either not feasible or not cost effective and are not covered under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana. Such villages are provided basic facilities for electricity/lighting through various renewable energy sources by Small Hydro Power Generation systems, biomass gasification based electricity generation systems, solar photovoltaic power plants, etc., depending upon the availability of resources for generation of required electricity.

Renewable energy is an alternative technology, particularly compared to electrification in the inaccessible areas and will generate and will feed power to the villages. The extension of wires is expensive and usually do not last long in the jungle, therefore mini grids are a good alternative.

Mini-grids (central generation and village wide distribution network), Hybrid mini-grids (renewable combined with diesel generators) are a widely acknowledged technology for rural electrification for developing areas. Solar mission programs can fasten the pace of electrification and diversify the procedure for reducing wastage, providing better equipment and improving the overall infrastructure for electrical transmissions in rural areas. In recent years in some parts of the state hundreds of thousands of Solar Systems have been installed. In India the villages have been electrified with a further goal of providing complete electrification by 2020.

0

77.13 7772

57.78 57.77 59.96 62.67

78.5284.46 85.31

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

YEAR 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13

Perc

enta

ge

A comparative study on yearwise electrification of villages in Assam

Fig. 2: Year wise percentage of villages electrified in Assam

Drawbacks/Challenges of village electrification

District-wise distribution of electrified rural areas in State are non-uniform Due to high population growth, the number of people without electricity is expected to

rise in near future Few states being able to provide a majority of the villages with power while poorer

states still struggling to do so Poverty, lack of resources, lack of political will, poor planning and electricity theft are

some of the major causes which has left many villages in India without electricity, while urban areas have enjoyed growth in electricity consumption and capacity.

Rural electrification are the potential conflicts with land use and the impact on the rural environments

With regard to land use, administrators will need to ensure that adequate planning in regards to infrastructure development and land use allocation

The economic cost attached to providing electricity in rural areas is also of major concern for the poor families

Incomplete coverage or incomplete connection Theft of electricity Faulty definition/ incomplete data Low demand and low consumption Time consuming and difficult procedures Economically unfeasible Less enthusiastic approach by NGO’s Lack of improvement in technology More emphasis on grid rural electrification Again, in many areas the people in rural areas do not have knowledge of the presence of

renewable sources and they use Less renewable energy resources such as solar energy through technologically & institutionally arranged (a) schemes integrated to allow for

grid extension for adjacent settlements, and (b) stand alone distributed generation systems, local distribution systems or decentralized generation.

However the current state of electricity services indicate signs of crisis and are with severe shortcomings areas like limited access to electricity for poor, unable to meet peak demand, supply reliability and quality of power.

Supply across the state lacks quality and quantity with an extensive shortage in supply, a poor record for outages, high levels of transmission and distribution (T&D) losses and an overall need for extended and improved infrastructure. A considerable amount of electricity generated is wasted due to transmission and distribution inefficiencies

But such problems/reason to keep more population from getting access to electricity. At least a large number of people are still lack household electric power. This can be overcome by implementing off-grid projects which can be initiated at small levels so that people don’t have burden to maintain them and it even don’t have any adverse effect to environment or society. The concerns relating to environment are being addressed through strategies to promote environmentally sustainable power development to ensure generation of green power. The focus and emphasis in future in the company will be on generation of power in line with global standards and in complete harmony with the environment and nature.

CONCLUSION

Despite widespread electricity in the cities, electricity was not available to many rural areas. This report is focusing exclusively on rural electrification and aim to provide a comparative study on rural electrification.

The conclusions and recommendations are based on an analysis of the rural electrification programmes of the state Assam. To overcome the drawbacks and challenges of village electrification process we can utilise renewable sources of energy. This will not cost much except the initial cost of setting up the device to utilise this type of energy.

Electricity is being utilised now in many parts of the State. It is the only reliable source in present and in future. Programmes providing subsidy and other benefits increased the number of consumers. Rural electrification plays an important role directly or indirectly in the growth of economy of region, so it’s necessary.

Electrifying remote communities in a sustainable way may add other benefits in social developmental process. By building the infrastructure for sustainable electricity generation and distribution can improve public health, education and economic opportunities and is a desirable public support for the more direct and visible charitable actions in these fields.

It is utmost important for the district administration to coordinate and review execution of electrification in each district, the quality and consumer satisfaction, promote energy conservation and look the issues of village electrification at district level and implementation process.

The non-renewable sources are getting depleted at a high rate due to the increase in energy demand. While renewable energy sources like solar energy is also abundant and easily accessible in our State. With the help of government the technology can be provided at low cost. Besides the advantages of solar energy, in many areas the people in rural areas do not have knowledge of the presence of such renewable sources. They have no idea how to harvest them. With the knowledge and technology we can harvest these renewable resources to the maximum extent and the problem of lack of electricity in the rural areas can be solved.

REFERENCES

Small hydro power for rural electrification in Assam Dr. A.K. Baruwa Director, Assam Energy Development Agency, Guwahati, PDF

ENVIS Newsletter, Volume-12, No.-2 (ISSN 0974-5106) April-June, 2014

ENVIS Newsletter, (ISSN 0974-5106) July-September, 2012

ECONOMIC SURVEY ASSAM 2014-2015, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Assam; Planning and Development Department, Government of Assam, (pp-136-144)

Statistical Hand Book Assam 2004, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Assam (pp-93-95)










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