Access to Reliable Electricity Transforms Rural India

Without electricity, communities are limited in their ability to access key information services and facilities such as healthcare, education and livelihood thereby impacting their chances of improved economic and social well being. The Smart Power Initiative of The Rockefeller Foundation aims to extend productive power to those without sufficient access to reliable and quality electricity.

In the remote village of Ramgarh, Uttar Pradesh, the biggest problem was that of electricity; it was not available 24/7. The farmers needed electricity to irrigate their fields. There wasn’t much development as there was no was no water either. Most of the transformers and tubewells in the village were not in a goods workable condition. Water supply was available only to those whose fields were closer to the pump.

Since SPI installed the mini-grid solution, the situation of the village has drastically improved for better. It has proven to be extremely useful as the electricity is freely available in the area. The water supply has been regular in the village now and farmers are able to irrigate their fields properly.

Jaipal- Farmer, Ramgarh says – ‘Earlier when there was no water, one had to invest in a diesel pump or spend extra money on hiring a pipe. Getting the diesel pump to the village was not only a task but also quite expensive. Now we don’t have to spend money on diesel and we irrigate our fields in less than half of what we spent earlier.’

SPI not only installed mini-grids, but also supplied the farmers with a card which can be used to take as much water as they want. The mini-grid operator swipes the prepaid card and provides water as per the farmers’ necessity. The water supply is now in abundance which has inspired farmers to grow two crops a year instead of just one; which would increase their income.

SPI’s electricity access initiatives focus both on the mini-grid models, as-well-as partnering with the public and private sector actors towards developing grid-based models for achieving viable and sustainable electricity delivery. SPI is also promoting various micro-enterprise development activities (200 MEDs) around mini-grid sites to create an impact on the livelihood of the local community as well as increasing plant performance such as installing RO water machine, bulk milk chillers, leaf plate making, rice hullers, oil expeller, etc.