Energy Solutions for South Asia

In South Asia, the demand for electricity is growing rapidly. At the same time, countries in the region have some of the highest electricity transmission and distribution losses globally. Reducing those losses could provide significant amounts of additional electricity.

India's electricity grid is known for its huge transmission and distribution losses of between 35% and 45%. The World Bank says that for Pakistan, "reducing electricity transmission and distribution losses are more cost-effective measures for reducing the demand-supply imbalances than adding generation capacity".

One of the most fascinating examples of energy solutions is that of Sulgaon Village in the Narmada Valley in India. The people of the village are strongly opposing the Narmada dams. They have demonstrated that by using demand-side measures to conserve energy, along with local energy sources, mostly renewable biomass, to generate electricity, they can not only meet their own electricity needs, but also export significant amounts of it. Scaling this up could lead to a large source of sustainable and renewable energy without many of the serious social and environmental disruptions that come from large hydropower projects.