The Orissa Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA), the nodal agency of the Orissa government for promotion of new and renewable energy, would implement the Decentralised Distributed Generation (DDG) programme in five villages in the state.
These villages would be covered in the first phase of the programme which is implemented under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). Orissa is the first state in the country to implement this programme.
OREDA has already signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Union ministry of power (MoP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for execution of the project, sources said.
The DDG programme focuses on the entrepreneur model for generation and supply of power in remote and unelectrified villages. While 90 per cent of the capital expenditure is borne by the MoP, the operation and maintenance expenditure is provided by the ministry to the entrepreneur for a period of four years, sources added.
Though the entrepreneur is not required to invest much under the scheme, he would have to ensure supply of power for 6 hours a day and 25 days in a month to the consumers.
Meanwhile, the nodal agency has identified a remote village named as Rampur in Kalahandi district for implementation of the programme. A consultant has been selected for preparation of the detailed project Report (DPR).
Similarly, another fishing village near Mahakalapada in Kendarapada district has been identified to be covered under the scheme where power is generated using the diesel generator.It is proposed to be illuminated for 6 hours for 25 days in a month using the solar power.
Besides, one more village near Chilika is proposed to be included in the programme which has hydel power generation possibilities. “The good thing about the programme is that it doesn’t have any limit on the capital cost. We hope it would enthuse the entrepreneurs”, an official associated with the process said.
It may be noted, the state government targets to cover more than 3000 villages under the Remote Village Electrification Programme (RVEP) by December 2011. The state energy department is in the process of notifying these villages which includes villages in the Naxal affected areas.
RVEP has made substantial headway in the state with the identification of 1080 villages for electrification under the programme. While 659 projects were sanctioned, 249 villages have been electrified under the scheme. Besides, the survey is in progress in 256 villages of the state, sources added.
