Tanzania and India Energy Access Maps
Close to a billion of the 1.2 billion people without access to electricity services globally, reside in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. Modern advances in technology have made it possible to meet electricity needs with a wide range of options such as standalone systems and mini-grids in addition to the conventional grid. However, a poor understanding of unserved and underserved markets stands in the way of taking these solutions to those who need them and implementing them at scale.
WRI’s Energy Access Maps for India and Tanzania are interactive web-based tools that can facilitate a better understanding of unserved electricity markets. Cognizant that the factors that influence electrification decisions can vary vastly from country to country, we identify five broad parameters that influence electrification decisions in these geographies. These include the lack of access to electricity, economic buoyancy, access to finance, the extent of grid penetration (as well as access to other electrification sources such as mini-grids) and the presence of load centers such as clinics, schools and productive use activities. In each of the geographies, the interactive maps draw on the specific indicators that are of relevance.
Our interactive maps can be used by a wide range of stakeholders including entrepreneurs, policy makers, development finance institutions, philanthropies and civil society organizations to inform decision-making as they work to address the electricity access challenge. For example, for entrepreneurs, the maps can provide general pointers to regions and districts that are interesting from a private provider’s perspective; this will be those regions or districts with significant electrification gaps but relatively high economic buoyancy (hence ability to pay for services). With this information in hand, entrepreneurs can zero in on target regions and districts and conduct more detailed village level market studies that will help them tailor their products to the unique needs and characteristics of their target consumers. Testimonials from entrepreneurs who have utilized our maps for decision-making can be found here and here. For policymakers on the other hand, the maps can provide a clear indication of where private sector involvement with electricity provision will be limited (those regions or districts that have significant gaps in electrification but are not economically buoyant), and help policymakers to think through how to more effectively distribute public finance. Funding institutions can fall on these maps to help them to identify existing opportunities to invest in or support the implementation of electrification initiatives in the two countries. The maps can also inform CSOs about the energy access situation more generally, supporting their work through updated data.
The India Energy Access Maps is a web-based tool that provides insight into the un-served and under-served energy demand in India. The maps will be used as a means to convene regulators, planners, electric utilities, clean energy enterprises and investors to ideate on how to help make better decisions and on where to focus their respective efforts to achieve developmental benefits.
We are adopting a phased approach to develop the maps. Version 1.0 looks at the household level electrification data to identify the need for electricity access solutions and markets at the household level. Version 2.0 will show the developmental linkages of electricity access. These maps will go beyond household electrification and will capture the information pertaining to productive, institutional and social loads.
The Version 1.0 of the maps, developed in partnership with New Ventures India uses household data at district level to show the potential markets for Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) in 10 Indian states. The tool draws on data from the 2011 National Census. We add layers based on four key parameters, to identify micro markets based on household level data on economic criteria, infrastructure availability, and demand potential. The four key parameters/filters used for predicting the potential market are: energy need, access to finance, economic buoyancy and grid penetration. Energy need is determined by the percentage of households lacking grid access. Access to finance is measured through banking penetration.
Ownership of television and motorized vehicles are used as proxies of economic buoyancy. Using these attributes, these maps demonstrate districts that have an immediate requirement and demand for electricity access implementation efforts. A similar effort has been used at the village level for one district in one Indian state, to identify un-served and under-served villages, where household data has been collected through surveys and assessed.
View Version 1.0 charts and maps for un-served and underserved areas in India:
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Assam)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Bihar)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Chhattisgarh)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Jharkhand)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Madhya Pradesh)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Maharashtra)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Orissa)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Rajasthan)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (Uttar Pradesh)
Identifying Markets Clean Energy Access (West Bengal)