Over 90% Indian households have metered electricity connections: Study

Chennai: Around 93 per cent of grid-electrified Indian households had metered connections and 91 per cent were billed regularly according to two independent studies released by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

The studies also found that 77 per cent of grid users were satisfied with their electricity services. Further, consumer satisfaction in the rural areas of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal had more than tripled from 23 per cent in 2015 to 73 per cent in 2020.

The studies, which also examine energy efficiency in Indian households, found that 88 per cent of Indian homes had LED bulbs on the back of the Government’s Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme and other state government initiatives.

The studies are based on findings from the India Residential Energy Survey (IRES) 2020 conducted by CEEW in collaboration with the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy (ISEP). IRES, covering nearly 15,000 households across 152 districts in 21 states of India, is the first-ever pan-India survey on the state of energy access, consumption and energy efficiency in Indian homes.

Sanjay Malhotra, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, said, “I congratulate the CEEW team on the launch of these studies which give us insight into access and efficiency issues and will help us in framing future actions. While a 77 per cent satisfaction rate is high given the increasing expectations, a 23 per cent unsatisfaction rate is also a significant number. Our focus is now going to be on quality, reliability and consumer satisfaction to increase satisfaction rates from 77 per cent to 90 per cent and even higher. We are setting up a committee to develop a framework to rank the distribution companies. Improving satisfaction rates, and viability and sustainability of discoms is very important. State-run discoms lose almost a rupee per unit sold. Electricity is an enabler, and we need to improve the wherewithal of the discoms while simultaneously providing electricity to poorer households.”