Volume 16, Number 1 Article by Sidharth Sinha March, 2004
Management of Power Supply to Agriculture: Breaking up the Grid :
Management of power supply to agriculture constitutes an important element of any programme of power sector reform and there is a general consensus that the existing system of subsidised, flat rate unmetered tariffs has contributed significantly to the problems of the sector. Sidharth Sinha attempts to determine the appropriate framework for managing power supply to agriculture, especially during the transition period of reforms.
While on the one hand farmers have come to rely increasingly on pumped ground water, the supply of power by the SEBs is rationed and is of poor quality. Further, unmetered supply has created an opportunity for camouflaging T&D losses as supply to agriculture.
Regulators have been unsuccessful in dealing with the problems of power supply to agriculture. Attempts at metering of pump sets and quantitative restrictions on the overall supply of power have not worked. Farmers have even ignored 'attractive' metered tariffs. Further, the power subsidy is effectively untargetted and poorer farmers have been denied its benefits.
The nature of the rural electrification problem and possible solutions were recognised as early as 1980 in the Rajadhyaksha Committee and by several committees thereafter. Reform of power supply to agriculture must address the issues of amount and form of subsidies to the sector, and the organisation structure for managing the supply of power. Sinha upholds the broad consensus view of a separate organisation for delivering power to agriculture. The form it will take is most likely that of a government organisation, carved out of the existing SEBs, but working through appropriate local organisations such as co-operatives, village committees and franchisees to perform most of its tasks of routine maintenance and billing and collection. Supply to agriculture may have to be combined with supply to rural domestic, commercial and industrial consumers. Physical separation of the agriculture/rural network is necessary to measure the input into the system as well as to control the quality and timing of power supply to agriculture. Mechanisms for delivering targetted subsidies are possible only with comprehensive metering. Finally, these initiatives require political initiative at the state level.
Reprint No 04105g
