Solar power push lights up options for women in UP

In her village of Kamlapur, the fog swirls so thick at 7 am that Akansha Singh can see no more than 15 meters ahead. But the 20-year-old is already cycling to her workplace, 9 km away.

Halfway there she stops for two hours at a computer training centre, where she's learning internet skills.

Then she's off again, and by 10 am reaches the small garment manufacturing plant where she stitches women's clothing for high-end brands on state-of-the-art electric sewing machines.

Solar energy powers most of her day – the computer training centre and the 25-woman garment factory run on solar mini-grid electricity – and clean power has given her personal choice as well, she said.

If the mini-grid system had not been put in place, Singh – a recent college graduate without funds to pursue training as a teacher, the only job open to women in her village – would have had no alternative but to marry, she said. In fact, "I would already be married off," she said.

Today, however, she earns Rs 4,500 a month working on solar-powered sewing machines. She uses part of that to pay Rs 300 a month for her computer education class – and is planning to start a computer training centre closer to home.

Like her, most of the women at the factory earn between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,500 a month, which has helped their families eat better, get children to school and pay for healthcare, they said.

"With a month's earning alone we can buy new bicycles for ourselves and our school-going children," Bandana Devi, a mother of four, said, as she looked up from her sewing.

She bought one for her 12-year-old daughter, she said, and her 6-year-old rides pillion with her to the school, 2 km away.

Solar power – including the use of small local grids-- is likely to be a big part of the push, with 60% of new connections expected to be to renewable power, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

The 36-kilowatt plant, set up by the for-profit OMC Power Private Ltd.(formerly Omnigrid Micropower Company) in 2015, distributes solar energy over 2.4 km of power lines to 70 households, two telecommunications towers, the clothing manufacturing unit and several other small businesses.

Solar mini-grids usually rely on one or two large users of power – often mobile phone towers – to provide a stable base revenue for the system. But as solar electricity becomes available in areas beyond the traditional grid, power-hungry small businesses are emerging that could become anchor users.

Kamlapur's garment factory, for instance, consumes 10 kilowatts of power each day – the same as the telecom towers, said Ketan Bhatt, an OMC official in Uttar Pradesh state.

The state in 2016 became India's first to put in place a mini-grid policy, recognising private solar companies as legitimate players in India's push to get power to all.

Company owners, in turn, say solar mini-grids – which can be more reliable than the unstable grid power their competitors rely on – is giving them a business advantage.

"Because the power supply is steady, we are regularly able to deliver on contract deadlines, which in turn enhances our reputation to bag more contracts," said Mohammad Riyaz, who set up the Kamlapur garment unit in 2016.

Rohit Chandra, a co-founder of OMC, said he was seeing many solar power users moving beyond simply buying power for home lighting and appliances. Now, he said, they are harnessing solar energy for profit.

"We see barbers installing televisions and fans in their shops to attract more customers. Carpenters buy electric saws and wood polishers, fruit sellers are adding electric juicers. Health centres and dispensaries are coming up in underserved villages too," Chandra said.

"People are now continuously climbing," he said.

Sangeeta Singh, of the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency, said rural villagers "are willing to pay for assured, customized hours of supply, even at a higher price." "The myth that rural consumers will not pay for electricity is now demolished," added Jaideep Mukherji, the CEO of Smart Power India (SPI). "Over the last two years we've discovered not only do rural consumers pay for the electricity, 93% pay on time."

Chandra of OMC said that, on average, after supplying reliable power for a year, "we see around 30 micro-enterprises come up in each village".

Many users feel that the cost of private mini-grid power is a deterrent.

Riyaz's clothing factory, for instance, pays Rs 25 for each kilowatt of the 10 kilowatts of power it uses each day – well above the Rs 11 to Rs 17 that rural users of grid power pay. "The electricity bill pinches," the 45-year-old tailor said.

Chandra, of OMC, admitted that "on the face of it, our charges for reliable power might look high".
But grid power users in Uttar Pradesh must pay a minimum monthly fee of Rs 1,000, he said. Using efficient machines, solar mini-grid power can come out cheaper, he said

Thomson Reuters Foundation