Rajesh Kumar Behera in Kendrapara, India
Greenpeace India , in its recent study report on Energy titled ”Still Waiting” reveals the fact that despite the growth in electricity generation and increasing carbon emissions in the country , the far flung rural pockets used to remain deprive of electricity. Such fact came after Greenpeace conducted survey in some villages and cities of Orissa apart from state like Bihar ,Karnatak, Uttar Pradesh and Maharastra. The report challenges the government’s energy model and recommends a decentralised energy mix as a solution to overcome the social injustice and mitigate climate change, stated Vinuta Gopal , the Climate and Energy campaigner of Greenpeace India on Thursday.
The study report” Still Waiting “compares the electricity supply scenarios among rural and urban areas in five states ,including Orissa ,reveals that all villages covered in the report had power supply for less than 12 hours a day while cities and towns had supply between 22 and 24 hours.
“The Internationally acclaimed NGO “Greenpeace “ studied three villages including Rupra (Kalahandi), Athanga (Cuttack), and Muskidih (Kalahandi ) and two cities in Orissa along with the states of Bihar and found that the rural people are suffering due to the poor quality of Supply even in the areas which were officially got electrification ,added Gopal.
“Urban areas have almost 100% electrification, and some areas are even reaching the per capita consumption levels of developed countries. This is a case of sheer social and energy injustice. India needs to change its energy plans, or “Electricity for All” will only remain a promise,” added Gopal.
The current electricity production model in India is extremely carbon-intensive, emitting more than two times CO2 per kilowatt-hour than in the EU. Electricity is responsible for about 58% of India’s CO2 emissions related to energy. The study highlights how the grid-based centralised electricity generation system has failed to meet the basic energy needs of the majority of India’s rural population.
“The government tries to justify the demand for a larger carbon space to enable development of the poor. However, even after 62 years of Independence, the centralised, grid-based model has not delivered to our rural population,” said Gopal.
The study report “Still Waiting “ pointed out that the government’s sponsored Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (Rural Electrification Programme) is failing flat in its objectives.
A fossil-fuel based centralised electricity generation plan has huge economic, social and environmental impacts. “It is an inequitable and unsustainable pathway. Decentralised energy generation, on the other hand, can make our villages the power houses of the future and reduce India’s carbon emissions,pointed in the report .
A renewable source-based electricity generation model drastically reduces GHG emissions and ensures power to the poor. Decentralised energy systems include rooftop photo voltaic solar panels, solar water heaters, and community-based biomass and wind turbine systems.
Government must bring in policy changes to ensure green and sustainable energy access to people through a decentralised approach. They also expressed their views against fossil-fuel based energy production and instead demanded government to invest in, research, and develop renewable energy sources.
“To achieve social justice and ensure climate change mitigation, India must adopt a decentralised energy model based on renewable sources,” stated in the report
