A survey by Mercom Capital, an energy consulting firm, has found awareness of renewable energy and energy efficiency very low among Indian consumers. However, the survey found that 71 per cent of the consumers were willing to pay higher for electricity from renewable energy sources.
According to the survey, titled ‘India Renewable Energy Awareness Survey’, only 56 per cent of Indian consumers had heard of ‘renewable energy’ or ‘clean energy’, and only 27 per cent had heard of ‘energy efficiency’.
The firm surveyed more than 500 commercial, residential and rural consumers in India that led to a strong evidence that consumers were willing to pay more for uninterrupted power and the opportunity to use renewable energy. This survey was conducted in areas around Bangalore and Mysore.
A surprising finding was that 65 per cent of the consumers were willing to pay more for uninterrupted power. This is in contrast with a common misconception that consumers would not pay more for power, which has been the driving force behind state government policies that have been reluctant about raising power prices to reflect rising costs. This has dented power utilities’ revenues and led to huge losses.
Solar was the most identified renewable energy form, that 92 per cent of consumers had heard of, mainly due to the prevalence of solar water heaters. Only 49 per cent had heard of wind energy, while 82 per cent overwhelmingly supported renewable energy projects and 90 per cent said the government should support renewable energy.