NITI Aayog, Rockefeller Foundation & Smart Power India along with Ministry of Power Launched Electricity Access & Utility Benchmarking Report.
Rockefeller Foundation & Smart Power India conducted primary survey across 10 states– representing about 65% of the total rural population of India and with a sample size of more than 25,000, including households, commercial enterprises and institutions– the report assesses 25 distribution utilities with the following three objectives:
- Evaluate the status of electricity access in India across different states and distribution utilities along all dimensions that constitute meaningful access
- Benchmark utilities’ capacity to provide electricity access and identify the drivers of sustainable access
- Develop recommendations for enhancing sustainable electricity access
Key findings of the report:
- As much as 92% of customers reported the overall availability of electricity infrastructure within 50 metres of their premises; however, not all have the connections, the primary
reason being the distance of households from the nearest pole. - Overall, 87% of the surveyed customers have access to grid-based electricity. The remaining 13% either use non-grid sources or don’t use any electricity at all.
- The hours of supply have improved significantly across the customer categories to nearly 17 hours per day.
- Nearly 85% of customers reported to have a metered electricity connection.
- Access to electricity is observed in 83% of household customers.
- A satisfaction index was created to assess the overall satisfaction level of customers with utility services.
- The study suggested that a total of 66% of those surveyed were satisfied – 74% of customers in urban areas and 60% in rural areas.