Crowdsourcing data on the reliability of electricity service: Evidence from a telephone survey in Uttar Pradesh, India

PIs: Ryan Kennedy (The University of Houston) , Aseem Mahajan (Harvard University) , Johannes Urpelainen (Johns Hopkins SAIS)

Measuring energy access in developing countries involves much more than simply recording whether or not households are connected to the grid. Both international organizations and scholars now recognize the importance of a reliable electricity supply for achieving positive development outcomes. Yet, measuring reliability is much more difficult than measuring the existence of connections. We propose an economical crowdsourcing method for measuring reliability and compare this method to energy monitor data for 122 households over 12 months. The results suggest that, while far from perfect, crowdsourcing provides a reasonably accurate method for monitoring the reliability of access over time, especially when modeled as a non-linear relationship. We apply these findings to model energy reliability in a broader group of villages across Uttar Pradesh, India, demonstrating the existence of disparities between urban and rural reliability and seasonal fluctuations in reliability. The system laid out in this study can be utilized by government and non-government organizations to quickly and cheaply monitor energy reliability.

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION IN INDIA: CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR AND DEMAND

Shalu Agrawal, Research Associate, Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy, Nidhi Bali, Program Manager, Smart Power India, Dr. Johannes Urpelainen, Founding Director, Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy

This study is a collaboration between Smart Power India (SPI), a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy (ISEP), at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The report distils learnings on electricity access and customer demand. One of the unique contributions of this report is the insight on baseline electricity demand at a village level, including the use of electricity for productive purposes. The findings in this report are based on primary data collected from customer surveys of over 10,000 rural households and 2,000 rural enterprises across four Indian states – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan. This report also provides insights into customer experiences under different electricity delivery models – public sector distribution companies (DISCOMs), solar mini-grids, and private distribution franchises. This report claims that grid-electrification coverage and adoption is high among rural households with the electric grid emerging as the primary source of electricity and lighting for many. However, gaps are prevalent with the rural micro-enterprises. In the study area, only 65% of enterprises had grid-electricity connections. While the share of connected rural enterprises is over 90% in Odisha and Rajasthan, it is lower than 60% in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. And non-grid sources such as solar home systems, rechargeable batteries, mini-grids, and diesel generators form an important part of the rural electricity mix. Sixteen percent of households and 40% of enterprises use non-grid sources.

Willingness to Pay for Solar Lanterns: Does the Trial Period Play a Role?

PIs: Semee Yoon , Assistant Professor of Sustainable Development and Cooperation at Underwood International College and the Graduate School of International Studies of Yonsei University., Johannes Urpelainen, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment (ERE) at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Milind Kandlikar, Professor of Science, Technology, and Development at the University of British Columbia

Where electricity access is limited, solar lanterns are a viable and relatively inexpensive source of basic lighting for households. However, the creation of commercially viable business models for solar lanterns is difficult because the customers are poor and make decisions under tight liquidity constraints. To understand the economics of technology adoption in the case of solar lanterns, researchers conducted a field experiment on willingness to pay (WTP) for solar lanterns in rural Uttar Pradesh. Applying the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak method of eliciting WTP, researchers evaluate the ability of a trial period and postponed payment to increase sales.

In the marketing experiment, local volunteers sell solar lanterns to villagers under different contracting arrangements and implement a BDM game to elicit unbiased estimates of willingness to pay. MORSEL was responsible for training the volunteers, overseeing their work, and preparing a dataset for analysis.

Location : Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India

Improving Accountability in Electricity Supply: A Field Experiment in Rural India

MORSEL conducted a study to investigate whether information and citizen empowerment can improve participatory governance and in the long run quality of electricity supply in rural India. This project is directed by Brian Blankenship, Johannes Urpelainen and Jason Wong. This project consists sample size of 12 villages of roughly equal size where meters were installed with the help of Prayas NGO, which monitored the electricity supply in each village- namely, how many hours of service there were on a given day and the number of the outage. In this study, MORSEL asked respondents about their confidence in government, their perceptions, of government responsiveness to their concerns, and their satisfaction with their electricity supply. The study includes both conventional survey experiments and conjoint experiments on valuation of electricity supply.

Location : Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh

supply, expectations and willingness to get green energy

PIs: David Blakeslee, Assistant Professor of Economics at NYU Abu Dhabi

The Researcher is working in this region with Boond (an NGO), which is installing solar micro-grids in selected villages in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. Researchers selected 100 revenue villages. 50 villages got treatment by the deployment of solar micro-grids. 50 villages are serving as control areas. Morsel collected Baseline data from around 6000 HHs and collected information about household characteristics; access to, and satisfaction with, electricity; familiarity with solar technologies; and the willingness to pay for solar electricity, amongst others. Morsel is helping to develop the survey instruments, piloting them in the field, and then conducting the surveys.

Location : Unnao, Uttar Pradesh

Adopting Solar for Irrigation: Farmer’s Perspectives from Uttar Pradesh

This project was funded by Shakti foundation and supervised by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The aim of this research was to elucidate farmer’s perspectives on solar pumps and understanding barriers that prevent them from adopting solar pumps for irrigation. The particular focus was on farmer’s awareness of solar pumps, their interest in adopting them and their willingness-to-pay to own a solar pump. Here the survey was carried out by Morsel in 10 selected districts of Uttar Pradesh covering 1600 farmers. In each district, 16 villages were selected based on simple random sampling using Census Village list for UP.

Behavioral effects of solar lighting in rural India

PIs: Johannes Urpelainen, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment (ERE) at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Solar Village Project

This study tried to understand the benefits of improved lighting in rural India. A better understanding of these benefits can lead to informed state government policy and thus contribute to rural development. In the baseline, Morsel conducted 200 Households interviews in 50 sample villages and in 100 treatment households solar lanterns were distributed after the demonstration. In the end line, 100 HH individuals from baseline were again interviewed. This project was executed in partnership with Solar Village Project and D.Light Design Inc

Location : district Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh

Cool Roofing Solutions for Reducing Heat Stress: An evidence from Slums in Delhi

This project was conducted by Morsel on behalf of The University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute based in Delhi. This was in continuation of a research study about the impact of passive cooling technologies on indoor temperature and quality of life. For this, Morsel conducted a survey of approximately 10-20 minutes in the Sabda JJ colony, in Delhi for over a period of 1.5-2 months. The data of approximately 524 households were collected in 3 waves consisting of Baseline, Midline and Endline.

Electricity Consumers and Compliance: Trust, Reciprocity, and Socio-economic Factors in Uttar Pradesh

PIs: Karthik Ganesan Research Fellow CEEW, Kapardhi Bharadwaj Program Associate CEEW, Kanika Balani Research Analyst CEEW, Johannes Urpelainen Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment (ERE) at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Under Saubhagya scheme, Uttar Pradesh added the largest number of households to its existing consumer base – as many new consumers as served by state distribution companies (discoms) before the launch of the scheme. Household consumption significantly impacts the overall financial position of discoms and the state. Any discussion on losses and theft calls for an evaluation of the services provided by discoms. Electricity loss other than that attributable to technical reasons may be broadly classified into hard theft and metering, billing, and collection (MBC) losses. Hard theft refers to theft as defined under Section 135 of the Electricity Act-2003 (referred to as Act) and entails, mainly, theft due to hooking of wires (katiya), meter tampering, and unauthorized electricity usage, and includes wilful misrepresentation of electricity consumption. This study, in the meanwhile, was carried out to improve understanding of the discom–consumer dynamics in UP and how it manifests in supply outcomes for the consumer. This study further aims to: · unpack the commercial losses attributed to domestic consumers; · capture the consumer perspective and actions (or lack thereof) in the midst of the administrative reform underway; and · explore how this reform can help drive targeted activities to improve compliance, satisfaction, and create a virtuous cycle for the utility business in the state.

Here Comes the Sun: Residential Consumers’ Experience with Rooftop Solar PV in Five Indian Cities

PIs: Amala Devi, Uttara Narayan and Tirthankar Mandal

Morsel captured the data through household surveys across five Indian cities. The study is an attempt to understand the challenges faced by residential consumers at various stages of their decision pertaining to the installation of rooftop solar PV systems. Addressing three key challenges—lack of clear, objective, and accessible information for installation; absence of customized financing options; and lack of coordination in institutional priorities and processes—can enhance residential consumers’ experience in installing rooftop solar PV. The study was funded by Shakti Foundation and conducted under the direction of World Resource Institute

Location : Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Jaipur, Nagpur

Energy demand assessment

Funded by GSES India Sustainable Energy Pvt. Ltd in this project Morsel is trying to get a sense of energy demand in two villages in Uttar Pradesh. This project is being monitored by Smart Power for Rural Development India Foundation.