Coping with Seasonal Peak in Power Demand for Irrigation
Pros and cons of temporary farm power connections in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal
Tushaar Shah, Paratha Sarathi Banerji, Ayan Roy and Shashank Singhania
For years, power distribution companies (DISCOMs) have been struggling to cope with the anarchy at rural feeders which heightens during the peak irrigation period, with both farmers and non-farmer community suffering alike. One of the ways to tackle this
situation is to give more power hours to farmers during the peak season which a few companies do. While states like Gujarat and Punjab opted for feeder separation to improve rural power quality, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh have resorted to giving
temporary connections to farmers during peak irrigation period.
This paper analyses whether the temporary agricultural connections mitigate the anarchy during peak demand period and how. It also explores the potential usefulness of temporary farm power connections as a tool for groundwater demand management as well as for creating an alternative regime of metered farm power supply.
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