Decentralise power generation for villages: World Bank

The World Bank today called for a localised power generation and distribution model, using primarily the renewable energy sources, to bring power to the 56% of the rural populace who do not have electricity connection in their homes as yet.

Releasing the findings of its study done in rural Maharashtra and Haryana here, the bank said such a model can provide substantial economic gains to rural consumers besides making the Government''s rural electrification project more economically viable and sustainable.

"Decentralising power generation and distribution to the local level through the distribution grid of the state utility by using renewable energy sources will help reduce prolonged outages and increase electricity supply in rural areas," said the report, ''Empowering Rural India: Expanding Electricity Access by Mobilising Local Resources''.

"If such sources replace kerosene and diesel for localised generation and supply, economic gains can be substantial."

"Despite over a century of investment in electric power systems, there are roughly 1.6 billion people across the globe that lack access to electricity, mainly in rural areas.

There are as many people in South Asia without access to electricity, most of them in India," bank Vice-President for Sustainable Development Network Inger Andersen said releasing the report.

The experience of China and the Philippines show that distributed generation projects that also combine supply and are grid-connected are successful, she said. .