Millions of homes in India lack electricity. Prime minister Narendra Modi hopes to change that with his Power For All By 2019 plan. Under the scheme, around 40 million households could obtain electricity connections – with the poor receiving them for free.
Low income households could finally receive electricity in India. While people won’t get power for free under the Power For All plan – they’ll need to pay for electricity they consume – they could get a free connection. Homes will be connected to the closest electricity pole by a service cable, and the government will install an energy meter and wiring so homes can charge mobile phones and obtain light from an LED bulb.
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Homes in rural areas that can’t easily be connected to the grid will receive solar power packs of 200 to 300 watts and a battery pack. They’ll also get five LED lights, one DC power plug, and one DC fan, according to BloombergQuint. In addition, the government will provide maintenance and repair for five years.
The idea isn’t completely new; Anil Razdan, former power secretary, told BloombergQuint it’s a decade old, and they’ve been working to electrify villages, but now, “after having spent tens of thousands of crore, we’ve finally decided to take it to every home.” Some households in the past couldn’t afford initial connection charges, and under the new plan, such homes could get connections for free.
India will need around 28,000 more megawatts (MW) for the plan, according to BloombergQuint. Clean energy has been soaring in the country, according to a statement from Modi, which said in the past three years, renewable energy capacity has nearly doubled. Solar power capacity grew by almost five times. The government’s goal is to produce 175 gigawatts of clean power coming from wind, solar, and hydro by 2022.
Via BloombergQuint
Images via Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons
