Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the flagship scheme of National Democratic Alliance government for subsidised LPG connection, coupled with Saubhagya Scheme providing free domestic power connections in rural areas to the poor have unleashed a silent revolution across Uttar Pradesh, leading to a sharp rise in power consumption and LPG as medium of cooking food. The Ujjwala Yojana was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ballia (eastern UP) on May 1, 2016.
An estimated 59 per cent of rural households in the state relied on grid power as the primary source of lighting in 2018. This was a near three-fold increase since 2015. This was found during a study by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The council published its findings from the second round of India’s largest multi-dimensional energy access survey on Monday.
The proportion of rural households using kerosene as a primary source of lighting also plummeted from 72 to 30 per cent over the last three years. The study found that nearly 20 per cent unelectrified households in the state —- highest among six states covered in the survey —- preferred to remain unelectrified even if they received connections with no upfront cost.
The reasons for refusing free connections can be inability to afford power consumption, unwillingness to pay high-value in irregular lumpsum bills, prevailing illegal connections or unreliable power supply.
Further, 64 per cent of rural households in the state used LPG for cooking in 2018, up from 33 per cent in 2015. Rural households relying on LPG as primary fuel increased from 17 per cent in 2015 to 37 per cent in 2018.
Using LPG for cooking reduces health risks due to indoor air pollution caused by traditional fuels such as biomass, dung cakes and agri-residue. Out of the households not having an LPG connection, 83 per cent expressed interest in getting one. However, high installation cost and recurring costs remained significant barriers for them in getting a connection.
The Access to Clean Cooking Energy and Electricity – Survey of States (ACCESS), an independent CEEW study supported by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF) and National University of Singapore (NUS), covered more than 9,000 households in 756 villages and 54 districts across India’s six energy-access-deprived states.
Following up on the first round of ACCESS survey in 2015, the Council revisited the same households in six states in mid-2018 to evaluate changes in their energy access situation.
In Uttar Pradesh, more than 3,000 households in over 250 villages from 18 districts were surveyed. Due to UP’s vast area and diversity, significant variations in energy access was noticed. Only 20 per cent of rural households in Banda district reported reliance on grid power as primary source of lighting as compared to 95 per cent in Muzaffarnagar district.
Further, only 28 per cent of electrified rural households were equipped with meters in Aligarh district as compared to 66 per cent in Varanasi. There was also stark disparity in the use of solar home systems and lanterns, as only two per cent of rural households in Muzaffarnagar district reported their use in contrast to 30 per cent in Sitapur.
Senior programme lead, CEEW, Abhishek Jain said: “The study provides a nuanced understanding of evolution of energy access in rural UP. While Saubhagya would ensure connections for households, UP discoms should focus on dealing with issues of low-voltage and long blackouts. With 40 per cent of rural electrified household not paying anything for their supply, UP needs to improve metering rates along with billing and collection efforts.” The council’s study covered districts of Aligarh, Azamgarh, Banda, Bareilly, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Mirzapur and Muzaffarnagar in UP.
