Covid-19: Helping rural Bihar and UP get free vouchers to buy green power

Smart Power India (SPI), an initiative of Rockefeller Foundation, has begun a voucher system for power consumers in 32 villages of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

Villagers drawing power from the decentralised energy systems (DES) have seen a dent in their paying capacity, owing to the coronavirus (Covid-19)-induced lockdown.

State governments like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have taken initiatives to not charge for the fixed portion of power tariff from big customers. 

However, those connected to the DES are finding it hard to buy power packages as their income flow has reduced drastically.

To overcome this problem and prevent long-term demand destruction for energy supply, Smart Power India (SPI), an initiative of Rockefeller Foundation, has rolled out a voucher system for power consumers in 32 villages of Bihar