Billion in South Asia have no electricity

Over a billion people in South Asia do not have access to electricity which is aggravating poverty in the region, said Chairman, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, Dr. Krishan Deheragoda.

He said a way out of darkness is a way out of poverty. People who do not have electricity are deprived of a decent living and they are unable to make productive use of their lives.

Dr. Deheragoda was speaking at a ceremony on Wednesday to launch the Regional Centre for Energy Efficient Lighting (RCEEL).

There are extreme discrepancies among electrification rates across countries in South Asia. Low rural electrification is a major problem for many countries in the region. While electrification in certain countries is around 80 percent in the poorest countries it is only-percent.

Country Manager, USAID ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program, Dr. Bhaskar Natarajan said incandescent lamps will be phased out in South Asia in the next five years as the demand for Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) are growing at a rapid pace. He said the market for CFL in Asia is US$ 3 billion and in India it is over US$ 2 million. With the growing need for energy efficient lighting solutions market for CFL is expanding.

"Though there is a rapid growth in CFL production capacity and proliferation of promotional programs there is no common quality standards for testing and performance'", he said. Cheap CFLs affect the market for quality and reliable products in South Asia. The substandard CFLs are a serious policy problem. Regional agreement on a common test procedure and performance standard has been recommended.

Director, Research, Lighting Research Centre, Dr. N. Narendran said electricity is wasted due to bad planning of street, city and household lighting fixtures.

Incandescent and gas discharge technologies for the past 125 years have provided shapes and sizes of light sources for a variety of lighting applications.