1 Demand side management and Renewable Energy In India: Capacity Building of CSOs DREC PROJECT Gujarat Chapter Presented By- Ankur Brauah VIKSAT, Ahmedabad VIKSAT Nehru Foundation for Development, Ahmedabad, Gujarat VIKRAM SARABHAI CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT INTERACTION

2 Project Outline Project Goal Policy Change Practice Change Consumer Groups 1.CSOs 2.Household 3.Farmers 4.Commercial 5.Government 6.Industrial (SMEs) Implementation area 4 districts 8 partner CSOs

3 Project Activities Accomplished Inception Workshop Consumer Perception Survey State Level Paper State Level Training Workshops Consumer Interface Meetings

4 Learning of the perception survey Climate Change: It’s happening… –Consumers are aware of climate change, but are unable to link the phenomenon with energy issue Lifestyle first –Consumers are not ready to compromise with lifestyle for the sake of climate Renewable Energy and energy Efficiency –Consumers are well aware of RE and EE Power surplus state….bordering a myth…? –There are issues related to supply and quality of electricity provided, in some parts of Gujarat YES…to shell out more –Consumers are ready to pay 5-10% extra for clean energy in the condition of reliable supply and better after sale service Behavior Change….a challenge –There is a gap between awareness and practice in EE and RE Consumer Satisfaction quotient –Consumers are not happy with the EE appliances High to start with…higher to continue –High initial cost and poor after sale service are the major hurdles in adopting RE

5 Learning of the CIMs Consumers are concerned about increasing power price Billing and service related problems still exits especially in rural areas Consumers showed interest to know about EE products and RE alternatives Farmers showed interest in adopting solar pumps Energy audit is picking up in SMEs….availability of qualified Energy auditors is an issue SHGs are instrumental in facilitating penetration of EE products and RE appliances At a personal level, the consumers have been adopting EEPs and RE, but the efforts are isolated and choices made were un-informed.. Standards, labeling and brands…dot play a significant role in influencing the decision of consumers, due to lack of information and awareness Consumer awareness and participation in regulatory system is nominal Very limited use of media in promoting awareness regarding consumer role in grievance redressal and in energy saving A high level of acceptance amongst the Gram Panchayats about RET Youth, School going children, SHGs are a potential vehicle for inculcating DSM strategies

6 Challenges faced Very little in-house expertise on specialized and technical aspects of the issue Start up problems: very few organizations were found to partner with, in the initial stage Mode of Denial: A general trend was observed amongst the consumers, CSOs, Government agencies (regulatory and implementation)

7 Actions …that we came across ABC, Kutchh SAVE Muni Sewa Ashram, Goraj Samarpan Trust, Visnagar VRTI, Mandvi, Kutchh GSS, Rapar, Kutchh HERA, Ahmedabad

8