Electricity access in India and benchmarking distribution utilities report

Released by NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Rockefeller Foundation, and Smart Power India launched the ‘Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities’ report.

• Released by NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Rockefeller Foundation, and Smart Power India launched the ‘Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities’ report.
• According to the report, 92% of customers received electricity infrastructure within 50 metres of their premises.
• Around 87% of the customers had access to grid-based electricity.
• Remaining 13% were those who either used non grid sources or did not use electricity at all.
• The majority of the customers using non grid sources were from the agricultural sector.
• Around 4 percentage of households in India are lagging grid-based electricity sources.
• The number of hours of electricity supply has been improved in the country.
• India on an average is receiving 17 hours of electricity per day.  
• The report was created based on the survey conducted across 10 states that represented 65% of Indian rural population.
• The survey focused on good connectivity, access, electricity, customer satisfaction and utilities capacity.
• The customers included in the survey were from rural households, commercial Enterprises, agriculture and institutions.
• Uttar Pradesh performed far below then the other utilities according to the report. Around 66% of the surveyed customers were satisfied
• Access to electricity is observed in 83 % of households. Nearly 85 % have reported to have a metered connection.
• According to the report, the improvement in electricity access in the country is mainly due to Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana and Deen Dayal Upadhyay gram Jyoti Yojana.
• The electricity access rate has doubled in India in the past 20 years. 
• However, the country is still facing challenges to provide reliable and affordable electricity supply.
• The report suggested that India should focus on sustainability of electricity access and create an action plan to resolve the barriers.