Income impacts of alternative rural energy systems: Case study of a village in Punjab, India

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5675758

Pangotra, P P

The rural-electrification programs in India have been criticized because the richer population groups have benefited the most. It has been advocated that decentralized energy systems based on locally available renewable sources of energy have the potential to supply energy for rural development while providing a more equal distribution of economic benefits. This study assesses the potential impacts of four alternatives energy systems for stationary power applications on the household income of different population groups in a village in Punjab, India. It is shown that for all categories of potential users (farmers and owners of industry) the electricity option is most cost-effective. The next best option is diesel, followed by biogas and producer gas,in that order. In contrast, most of the non-user households (artisans, laborers, etc.) realize significant income gains under the biogas and producer gas options. With electricity as the benchmark, the aggregate losses of the users exceed the aggregate gains of the non-users under all options. It is argued that neither the potential Pareto improvement criterion of economic efficiency nor the Rawlsian theory of distributive justice lend support to energy-supply options other than electricity.

• Research Organization: Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5675758
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
296000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
299000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Unconventional Sources & Power Generation
ASIA
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ENERGY EXPENSES
ENERGY SOURCES
HOUSEHOLDS
INDIA
POWER GENERATION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RURAL AREAS