HOME
ABOUT
COUNTRY INFO
MEMBERS
LINKS
CASES
CONTACT
Sign up
or
log in
Subscribe to newsletter
Empowering the poor: An OASYS story from
Dhenkanal District, Odisha, India
FAQ
Summary
In the process of finding solutions for sustainable rural electrification, The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI) and a group of research partners, led by De Montfort University, the UK,
implemented the Off-grid Access Systems for South Asia (OASYS South Asia) project.
Through this project, a systematic analysis was conducted to develop an off-grid delivery model
framework and implement that framework through demonstration projects in un-electrified
villages across different regions in India. These demonstration projects included mini-grids,
micro-grids, and pico-grids, providing either Alternate Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC)
power to households and shops/micro-enterprises, in the selected project areas.
One of such demonstration project is employed in the five un-electrified villages lying within the
Kandhara Reserve Forest of Dhenkanal District in Odisha, India. These villages fall under the
Hindol Block (Latitude 20 33 N; Longitude 85 17 E) with a total population of 555
inhabitants. All these villages were provided with decentralized solar micro-grids; as of now,
three larger villages (Rajanga village, Kanaka village and Chadoi village) are receiving power
from AC micro-grids and the other two smaller villages (Rajanga hamlet and Baguli village) are
getting electricity supply from DC micro-grids.
Contents
1.
Objective
2.
Target Group
3.
Output
4.
Key Features of the Case
5.
Sustainable Financing
6.
Supportive Policies and Institutional Environment
7.
Building Local Capacity and Skills
8.
Community Participation and Including Local Stakeholders
9.
Achieving Co-Benefits
10.
Affordability and Technical Issues
11.
Local Champions
12.
Monitoring and Evaluation
13.
Replicability and Scaling-up
14.
Contact
15.
References and Further Reading
Objective
The main objective of the project in Dhenkanal District, Odisha was to demonstrate the off-grid
delivery model through community participation and find appropriate local solution, which is
techno-economically viable, institutionally feasible, socio-politically acceptable, and
environmentally sound for providing sustainable electricity supply to off-grid areas.
Target Group
The target group consisted of a tribal community inhabiting the Kandhara reserve forest. This
tribal village cluster is about 8 km away from the nearest large village, which is the headquarters
of the local village level governing body, known as the Panchayat. This physical isolation from
the Panchayat, as well as the villages location within the forest, resulted in a reduced focus on
development initiatives in this cluster of villages [1]. As per the forest regulations in India, laying
electricity transmission lines through the reserve forest is not permitted (MoEF, 2011), and thus,
these villages were not electrified under the national rural electrification programme. However,
the regulations allow electricity grid to be drawn in the inhabited areas within the designated
village [2].
Output
Owing to the distance between the different villages in the cluster, for each of the five sites, their
own power plant was designed. The three larger villages namely, Rajanga, Kanaka, and Chadoi
have received AC micro-grid (6, 5, and 2.5 kWp, respectively) and connected 34, 39, and 32
households as well as public buildings, respectively. The other two sites, Baguli village and
Rajanga hamlet, were provided with DC micro-grids (400 Wp) with 14 and 13 connections,
respectively. Each household across all the five villages has been provided with same electricity
supply configuration and illumination of two 3W Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) and a mobile
charging point to ensure equity in service delivery. In addition to household lighting, there has
been a provision for the following community services:
Street lights were installed in all villages to ensure safety at night as the villages fall in
the elephant corridor. Impact survey of the villages indicates that the street lights are also
helping a great deal in easing mobility around the villages. Incidents of insect and snakebites
after dark have also reduced and the community shared the sense of safety that they associate
with the project.
Television, video player, lighting, and fans were provided at the community centres of
Rajanga and Kanaka villages. Villagers used these facilities for recreational as well as
educational purposes. Women have also started using these centres for general household
discussions as well as to discuss lucrative opportunities to take up in future. The space is at
times used for meetings, trainings, and workshops.
For the purpose of livelihood augmentation, community centre at Rajanga village has
also been provided with appliances like:
1.
Multipurpose grinder
2.
Leaf plate pressing machine
3.
Weighing scale
4.
Polythene sealing machine
5.
Water pump sets
These appliances enable the villagers to engage in productive activities such as grinding spices,
packaging, and saal leaf plate making. This also encourages the village groups to carry out
processing of their agro-based products and selling them in the market to earn higher revenues
by avoiding the role of middle-men.
Water purifiers, one each at Rajanga, Kanaka, and Baguli villages, have been provided
for portable drinking water and to address the water-borne health related issues.
A household level study was carried out in the project villages by an independent researcher
engaged by TERI to assess the impacts of the intervention [3]. Some of the direct major impacts
of this initiative, as observed during the study, are as follows:
Reduction in household kerosene consumption from 7.15 litres prior to the intervention
of micro-grids to 3.52 litres, thereby reducing the monthly expenditure on kerosene per
household from 250 to 185. Hundred percent of households have said that they are now
saving money around 53 per month, which was earlier spent on the kerosene fuel.
Women who are involved in income-generating activities such as mat-making have
reported increase in income in the range of 500 to 1000 per month. These women were not
working during the night earlier, and have started continuing their income-generating
activities even after it gets dark because of the solar light in their homes.
In terms of health issues faced due to kerosene light usage, around 50% households have
consulted a doctor anywhere between 2 to 10 times in a year, amounting to expenditure of
50 to even more than 100 per visit. After installation of the solar light, those who used to
face health issues and visit the doctor are able to save about 8085% of money.
Now mid-wives have started to facilitate easy and safe delivery of babies at homes under
the light, an important activity which was earlier done in the dim kerosene light.
All households reported that children did not study at all at home under the light of
kerosene lamps/candles. Whereas, now around 48% children study at home under the solar
light, studying between 14 hours every day post sunset.
Another important impact observed was in terms of easy access to mobile charging
facility at home. Earlier, villagers had to travel to distant places where they were charged a fee
for charging their mobile phones. But, the installation of micro-grids helped them save not
only money, but also time and effort.
Key Features of the Case
Cluster-based approach for decentralization:In this project, clustering has been seen in
terms of institutional clustering wherein the Village Energy Committee (VEC), a single
institutional entity, was established. It had representatives from all the villages. They used to
operate and manage multiple power plants installed in each village. Instead of having a single
large power plant with distribution lines running to all five villages, it was decided to have
five distribution power plants [4]. Though operational benefits favoured having a single large
power plant, the cost of distribution line was low with multiple power plants. Therefore, this
single institutional entity, i.e., the VEC, was formed for the ease of management of the
system.
Choosing both AC and DC systems:During the baseline survey, it was found that the
number of households in the Rajanga Hamlet and Chadoi was limited to 14 and these two
sites are not very close to the other larger sites where AC power plants were planned. Hence, a
DC micro-grid was designed to cater to lighting and mobile phone charging demands at these
sites instead of extending the AC grid from the larger sites to these smaller sites, which would
have been an expensive proposition. In other larger sites at Rajanga, Kanaka, and Baguli, the
AC system was designed as the number of households was larger with a scope of commercial
and agricultural applications. However, all users were provided with same number of light
points and similar light quality (lumen output) for households served by AC and DC power
plants, so as to avoid any issues of conflict in future since the rural users have the tendency to
compare the quality of service being received by them with one another. Hence, it was
ensured that the choice of system being designed does not bring the sense of inequality.
Provision for demand growth: The design value per household is taken as 30W whereas
the actual requirement is around 10W (3W per light and 34W per mobile charging point).
This has been done to address future increase in demand (some household may install fans),
which may result from enhanced income due to the livelihood generation activities being
promoted in the sites. Also, in case the bulbs get damaged, there is no guarantee that the users
would replace them with similar LED bulbs, owing to its cost and availability constraints and
thus they may choose to install 7W Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) which would be the
next good alternative available for them in the area. In addition, some new productive or
agricultural load may also get connected in future or the number of households in the village
may increase. Therefore, some spare capacity has been built into the design to ensure that
there is no overloading of the system in future.
Livelihood appliances to augment income opportunities: The project took measure to
enhance the paying capacities for electricity in future by creating new business opportunities
for the villagers. Numerous livelihood opportunities are now enabled which use applications
such as grinders for spices, sealing machine for packaging, saal leaf plate pressing machine,
better irrigation facilities, functioning water purifiers, and installation of fans and street lamps
in community areas/institutions such as clinics and schools.
Distribution network and water pumping facility:While the distribution network in
Baguli, Rajanga hamlet, and Chadoi villages caters to only household and productive loads (if
present), Rajanga and Kanaka villages have also provided connection facility for water
pumping, located at some distance from the households. The pump has been connected to the
main power plant rather than through a standalone system. This has been done to optimally
utilize the solar power plant capacity such that the pumps can run during the day on solar
power for irrigation facility (around 3 months); whereas, for the rest of the year, the livelihood
appliances can be run using the same solar capacity.
Sustainable Financing
The villages are remote and located inside a forest, thus no private developers were willing to
take investment risk in such an area that is economically poor, scattered in terms of population,
and has unpredictable load growth. In this project, therefore, a subsidy-driven model was used in
collaboration with different funding agencies and contribution made by the community to
demonstrate a successful union of vision and finances as well as ensuring a sense of
belongingness for each stakeholder. The project cost was mainly borne by the OASYS South
Asia project and partially supported by the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), a
Government of India enterprise that has sanctioned financial assistance under its sustainable
development initiative. The community also contributed in kind by way of providing land for the
community hall-cum-power plant, labour, and a token connection cost, which was vital for the
project outcome.
TERI has acted as a main implementing agency for the project, overseeing and coordinating all
the activities of other agencies involved. Using the one-time connection charge (INR 500 per
household), a maintenance fund was created to cover rectifications beyond warranty period,
especially those caused by natural factors or force majeure and other maintenance needs as per
the project requirements. The VEC is also empowered to make decisions regarding the fund
utilization for the long-term sustainability of the project.
Supportive Policies and Institutional Environment
The Indian Electricity Act of 2003 allows local agencies to set up power plants and distribute
electricity in rural areas without taking license from the electricity regulator. This has helped to
set up the plant without involving in licensing or paper work. Further, collaboration with state
department of horticulture has been established so that the department can assist in setting up
micro-irrigation facility utilizing electricity services that have been created in the village, which
can further help in increasing the crop yield and thereby local income.
In addition to this, a local partner NGOInstitute for Research and Action on Development
Alternatives (IRADA)is also attempting to link up with local existing schemes of the
government for construction of check dam, hand pump, bore well, etc. They also intend to have
facilities such as adult education at the community centre and are also in process of mobilizing
corporate houses for help to provide computer, television, and other durable assets to open the
avenues for vocation as well as recreation.
Building Local Capacity and Skills
Building local capacity and skills is crucial for the sustainability of any project. The key
stakeholders involved in this regard for the project are:
1.
Village Energy Committee (VEC) members
2.
Village operator(s)
3.
Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
4.
Community
5.
Local partner NGO
Each of these stakeholders was given detailed training to run the model on sustained basis. Other
capacity building programmes were also conducted [5] to spread awareness on the use of energy
and agricultural practices and few other general workshops and exposure visits such as:
Training of operators: Each power plant is serviced by a village operator who was
selected from the community by the VEC and is paid a monthly honorarium. These operators
were trained on the Operation and Minor maintenance (O&M) of the grids and the livelihood
appliances. The training was conducted by both TERI engineers and technicians from the
technology supplier in each village to convey specific information about the power plants.
They were trained on steps of operation, basic trouble shooting, and replacement of spare
parts. In addition to the training, a poster listing out Dos and Donts for the plants in the local
language has also been displayed at each site so that the operators can revisit the posters in
case they forget any steps about running of the plants.
Training of Self-Help Groups (SHGs): Four SHGs with membership from all five
villages were identified as potential user and operating groups for the livelihood generating
equipment. Capacity building sessions were organized with these SHGs to create awareness
on energy issues and generate interest in the proposed livelihood generating opportunities.
They were also provided with preliminary training on the use and maintenance of the
livelihood generating appliances.
Refresher technical orientation programme for VEC members: The technology supplier
also organized a two-day refresher technical orientation programme for the operators and
VEC members. The objective of the training was to understand from the local stakeholders
the type of faults that have occurred since the project was commissioned and how they can
address these in case the faults reoccur. They were also given hands-on training on the system
and on techniques of rectification in case of defaults.
Community training programme: In an effort to keep the communities involved in the
project and spread awareness on energy use, a series of training and capacity building
programmes were conducted during the initial pre-construction phase of the project. Such
trainings and programmes covered topics related to training on livelihood activities, O&M of
the machines, marketing of local produce, inputs on finance to enable banking, and savings
for future O&M. The training was held on the given topics in order to cater to the interest of
the villagers and encourage them to link the energy services which were planned to be
provided by the plant for livelihood purposes.
Exposure visit for partner NGO and VEC members: An exposure visit was also organized
during the pre-installation phase to Solar Multi Utility (SMU), earlier implemented by TERI
in a nearby site, for all VEC members and the partner NGO. During this visit, VEC members
were provided with technical and institutional understanding of the SMU, including inputs on
Dos and Donts and routine maintenance. They were also told about the benefits of solar
energy for enhancing livelihood activities through live examples of such activities in progress
at the SMU site.
Community Participation and Including Local Stakeholders
Since the project inception, community has been actively involved with the installation process;
first, in the manner of land donated by a community elder where the plant could set up and then,
the community helped with the construction of plant infrastructure. Further, for ease of the local
management, Gram Sabha (village meeting) passed a resolution to form the VEC, for operating
and maintaining the five solar power plants. The VEC members were chosen during the Gram
Sabha meeting with consent from other villagers, with at least one member from each of the
project villages. The VEC has been made responsible for not only the O&M, but also for the
collective management and decision-making which benefit all the villages equally. The VEC
holds regular monthly meetings to discuss the operational or any issues related to the power plant
and attempt to resolve them with guidance from the partner NGO.
The VEC also ensures tariff collection in each village. It also manages the community centre
provided in some of the villages for supporting economic activities and for community
entertainment through its village operator [5]. As the Project Implementing Agency (PIA), TERI
was not local to the site, hence there was a need of a partner organization to steer the project
activities in the field by providing grassroots support. This role is efficiently fulfilled by the
IRADA, which has a strong local presence in the project area. It has spearheaded all local
activities under TERIs guidance along with rapport building with the local communities.
Achieving Co-Benefits
Some of the other additional benefits arising out of the direct impact of the project as observed in
the project are as follows:
Looking at the livelihood appliances installed at the community centre of Rajanga,
IRADA also put up six sewing machines in the community centre at Kanaka in order to
promote livelihood opportunities.
Short-term employment opportunities were created for the community to involve the
activity of civil construction for setting up the power plant infrastructure, which helped
villagers in earning incremental income during the construction phase.
Due to the commissioning of this project, the region has become lively. Previously, these
villages did not even come under the arena of focus for development by the Panchayat, which
is no longer the scenario. In fact, the condition of roads connecting these villages to other
nearby areas has improved now.
Owing to the connectivity development in the area, people have started coming from
other towns and the capital city to buy the organic vegetables grown in these areas, thus
further enhancing villagers income earning opportunities.
The facility of mobile phone charging has come as a major relief in times of an
emergency, when the villagers could not establish communication with the urban centres.
Some of them even quoted this facility to be beneficial in terms of listening music or talking
on the phone.
All the households attributed solar lights to the ease in carrying out chores and providing
women with more free time. Women used this free time for doing household chores and other
creative activities, such as stitching and having leisure time with family.
In Baguli village, the school premises in the evening after school hours are also being
used for cultural events such as keertan (religious singing). Previously, the keertan was done
in the light of kerosene, but after the installation of light in the school and under the nearby
street light, it is now done with more fervor.
Affordability and Technical Issues
The consumer households paid a one-time connection fee of 500 per household and a recurring
fee of 50 per month, which is uniform across all five sites. This tariff was set up after a detailed
discussion in the Gram Sabha, keeping in mind the costs that will be incurred on plant operation
and maintenance and the payment of the staff involved. The tariff has been kept well within the
paying capacity of the villagers. The amount is collected by the village operator who maintains
the record and submits it to the VEC and the amount thus collected is used for the maintenance
of the system and to further develop it.
During the monitoring exercise, the project did report few teething concerns. While some issues
required the intervention by TERI (PIA), the other involved local usage that could be better
resolved by the VEC or the partner NGO. The teething concerns were as follows:
Tampering of household connections and installation of additional electrical sockets to
operate a higher number, and load, of appliances in some of the households. The VEC and
IRADA identified such households through individual checks, discussed the misuse and ways
of resolving the issue at their meeting. They were successful in discouraging the households
from misusing the system and communicated them that it would result in disconnection and
complete closure of the power plants.
Inverter and other equipment got damaged in the Kanaka village due to the lighting
strike. As the local community was recently introduced to electricity, they were not able to
resolve the issue and hence the partner NGO approached the PIA. The technical experts of
TERI rectified the problem and guided the operators to efficiently safeguard the system in
future.
There has been frequent spoilage of LED bulbs over the first two months of operations
which resulted in the suspension of monthly payments from the affected households.
Assuming that the fault lay with the bulbs, VEC made an order for CFL bulbs (11W) from the
local market, as 3W LED were not available in the local market, but the problem persisted
even after this change. Therefore, the problem was communicated to the PIA, as at this early
stage of the project, the deeper technical investigation could only be handled by the PIA. An
electrical engineer was thus hired and it was found out that the fault lay in the internal wiring
in some households, which during the rains caused short circuits resulting in the damage of
bulbs. The problem was immediately rectified and now villagers have started using LED
bulbs again.
The kinds of teething concerns mentioned above depict how both actors can effectively solve a
problem, if there is a good communication between them. Also, a clear demarcation of roles and
responsibilities, and the extent to which the PIA (which in most of the cases is an external
agency) would be involved in post-installation project activities, greatly impacts the functioning
of the project. In the funded projects, it has been mostly observed that either the VEC has high
expectations from the PIA, when it comes to resolving both minor and major problems, or the
PIA pulls back at an early project handover stage, placing an unreasonably heavy burden on the
VEC. Therefore, the division of responsibilities as well as pre-planned exit strategy by the PIA
ensures the sustainability of the project operation.
Local Champions
The local partner NGO, i.e., IRADA, has been actively involved with the project planning and
execution. From the very beginning, IRADA has helped in carrying out meetings and
accompanying TERI professionals to the sites. They assisted in scoping survey and helped in
carrying out the baseline studies in the early stages of the project, as they were acquainted with
the local communities.
IRADA acts at a meso-level between TERI and project beneficiaries. In addition, it plays a role
of community mobilizer. The partnership with IRADA not only enabled TERI in reaching out to
these remote villages in the forest areas, but also made it possible for TERI to continue its
handhold over the community. IRADA was also involved during the formation of the VEC and
has been playing an important role of facilitator during monthly VEC meetings and sending
detailed minutes of meetings to TERI. TERI sends its responses to the minutes of the meetings to
the VEC via IRADA. In fact, they are also exploring various ways to help villagers in marketing
of local produce so that they could get a remunerative price for their produce and intend to have
facilities for adult education at the community centres.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The installation of all the power plants was completed in March 2014. It was followed by regular
monitoring and handholding of IRADA and the VEC, as they resolved different degrees of
operational problems or teething concerns associated with a new project. While in some cases,
TERIs intervention was required as the issues were of a complex technical nature; it was
observed that even during early days, issues arising from local use patterns were better addressed
by the VEC or IRADA.
A detailed evaluation was done by an independent researcher, the details of which have already
been mentioned above.
Replicability and Scaling-up
The impact study undertaken by TERI for this project indicates that the users have been triggered
on the path of energy aspirations as the user households are demanding more light points. They
are even demanding energy for irrigating their farms now. This marks the success of the project.
This project has demonstrated that how community has sustainably managed and run a project
with handholding support by a local champion and overall technical support by the PIA. There
are large number of un-electrified villages and hamlets in South-Asia, accounting for around
35% of the world's population without access to electricity [6], especially in India, Bangladesh,
Nepal, and Pakistan. Hence, similar models can be replicated across these South-Asian countries
in energy impoverished communities, thereby contributing to improvement in quality of life of
rural people.
Contact
Debajit Palit
Associate Director, TERI
Email: debajitp@[Link]
