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Agriculture sector is one of the
most important sector of Indian economy. Agriculture plays a significant role
in the overall socio-economic development of India. There are about 20
million pump sets presently energized in India and annual addition of 0.25 to
0.5 million pump sets are realized in this sector. Agriculture sector
consumes 20-22% of total electricity consumption. Managing agricultural load
is increasingly becoming a challenge for electricity utility in India.
Subsidized tariff generate a perception of zero marginal cost of electricity
use and consequently, efficiency in consumption is disregarded.
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Upgrading of existing pumping systems
presents an immediate need and an unprecedented opportunity. Implementation of
this program is crucial as energy bills for agricultural pump sets are being
paid by Govt. in the form of subsidy. Low or free electricity coupled with high
inefficiencies contributes to adoption of local made inefficient &
unreliable pump sets, results in massive water wastage & higher energy
consumption. The average efficiency of existing in-efficient pump sets is in
the range of 20% - 30% whereas efficiency range of new star rated Energy
Efficient Pump sets (EEPS) is 40% - 50%. Therefore, there is a need to tap the
huge energy savings potential promised in agriculture pumping sector
AGRICULTURE DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT
(AgDSM)
In Energy Sector and Power sector,
Agricultural Demand-side Management (AgDSM) consists of those activities,
methodologies, awareness, policy and technologies that influence consumer
(farmers) behavior and Changes their (farmers) consumption patterns. The
objective of the AgDSM programme is to reduce peak demand, shift the time
during which electricity is consumed to off-peak hours and to reduce the total
quantum of consumption. The AgDSM proposition is very simple i.e. replacement
of inefficient agricultural pump sets with BEE star rated and high efficiency
pump sets to reduce the amount of electricity needed to pump water in
agriculture sector. By doing so, electricity usage can be reduced. If the
savings from the reduction in electricity usage can be sustained and the total
cost of the electricity saved exceeds the total installed cost of the pump sets
over its useful life, there will be a net economic gain. The electricity
consumption in the agricultural sector has rapidly increased over the years. It
has increased from around 10% of the total electricity consumption in 1970 to
around 18% of the total electricity consumption in 2011-12. The rapid increase
in electricity consumption of the agricultural sector is attributed to growth
of rural electrification coupled with policy of below cost electricity supply
to farmers. However, from a revenue perspective, the electricity sales to this sector
amounts to no more than 5-10% of the state electricity board’s revenues. The
reason for this perverse state of financial affairs is the adoption of flat
rate pricing for agricultural power.
Framework of AgDSM
Under the system, when a farmer pays a
fixed price per horse power per month for electricity, or what is termed as a
flat-rate system, the marginal cost of pumping water is zero. This leads to
energy wastages, over pumping and inefficient selection of pump. The fact that
electricity prices for agriculture are low or non-existent, there is a complete
absence of incentives for farmers to invest in the efficiency. The burden of
paying for sub-optimal agricultural energy pricing rests with the state
government. The subsidy bill is already a significant proportion of the state
GDP and therefore, there is a strong incentive for the state to facilitate
investment in efficient agricultural pump sets and reduce consumption.
First AgDSM Project
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First
AgDSM Project in India Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has facilitated and
initiated the implementation of first Ag DSM pilot project in Solapur circle
of Maharashtra where 2209 old inefficient pump were replaced with star rated
Energy Efficient Pump sets (EEPS) and provided free operation and maintenance
for installed pump sets till project duration. The intervention would lead to
lower energy supply on the feeder, and hence, could result in lower subsidy
to be paid by the State Government. In order to accelerate and implementation
of BEE AgDSM scheme, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) had taken a
step forward for implementation of AgDSM project in all over India. EESL has
conducted the survey & study for implementation of AgDSM. Replacement of
old in-efficient 590 nos. of agriculture pumps with new star rated energy
efficient pumps in phase one in Nippani and Byadgi circles of HSECOM, has
been completed successfully. Energy savings of 37% has been achieved in the
590 nos. of pump sets replaced.
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RM/PS