The aim of this Energy Safety Nets: India Case Study is to identify measures that have been implemented to enable poor people to access modern energy services, analyze their impact, and explore the reasons for their success or lack thereof.

While India’s experience with subsidizing access to electricity is not new, this study focuses on the subsidization of clean cooking energy in India, in particular on the policies and schemes introduced since 2014 to improve access to and targeting of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies.

Following the Multi-Tier Framework to measure energy access introduced by the Global Tracking Framework report, and work that has adapted it for use in India, the case study looks beyond connections and assesses the progress of the LPG program in India in its entirety.

This country case study – like the other five, covering Brazil, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya and Mexico – seeks to answer four research questions:

• What policy measures have been used in India to enable very poor and marginalized people to access and use LPG as a cooking fuel?
• How effective have these measures been in enabling the poorest social groups to access and use LPG?
• What links have there been/are there between these measures and wider/other social assistance programs?
• What changes could be made to enhance the effectiveness of existing policy measures in enabling very poor people to access modern cooking energy services?

See also: Energy Safety Nets series

This Energy Safety Nets: Kenya Case Study presents research findings from literature review and case studies to build on the understanding of the opportunities and challenges in using targeted subsidies or social assistance measures to enable very poor people to access modern energy services.

This study explores the background to the introduction of the social assistance mechanisms, their institutional and procedural characteristics, evidence of their impact and effectiveness in relation to energy access for different social groups, and challenges to their delivery and effectiveness. Through qualitative analysis, the report highlights an understanding of the degree to which different mechanisms have been successful while identifying the need for further experimentation, innovation or research.

The overall objective of the research is to provide guidance for policy and decision-makers, notably for government personnel, by identifying measures that have been successful in enabling very poor people to access modern energy services, exploring the reasons for their success and challenges encountered.

This country case study – like the other five, covering Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia and Mexico – seeks to answer four research questions:

• What policy measures have been used in Kenya to enable very poor and marginalized people to access and use modern energy services?
• How effective have these measures been in enabling the poorest social groups to access and use modern energy services?
• What links have there been/are there between these measures and wider/other social assistance programs?
• What changes could be made to enhance the effectiveness of existing policy measures in enabling very poor people to access modern energy services?

See also: Energy Safety Nets series

The Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) mandate to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services for all, means that even the poorest and most disadvantaged in society should have access to modern energy by 2030. 

Energy Safety Nets: Using Social Assistance Mechanisms to Close Affordability Gaps for the Poor synthesizes lessons learned from six country case studies from Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Mexico, and offers recommendations for the future design of Energy Safety Nets. It concludes:

• Distinct approaches are needed to support energy connections (e.g., wires and transformers, LPG stoves) and ongoing consumption (e.g., monthly electricity bills and regular fuel consumption).  
• The type of subsidy delivered and the mechanism for delivering it will impact an initiative’s effectiveness. Energy Safety Nets must be designed to target specific groups while being mindful of their particular energy needs, including the different needs of women and men.
• The mechanism (administrative or self-selected targeting) and the benefit (electricity or cooking support) must reflect the main objective of the program.
• A lack of evidence on the energy consumption levels within vulnerable households (disaggregated by sex) prevents policymakers from determining appropriate thresholds for subsidies. Additional data collection on the specific energy needs of the poor, building on examples such as the Multi-Tier Framework surveys, would enhance program design and allow policies to be more efficient.  
• Energy Safety Nets should be appropriate to the country’s institutional, geographic, economic and social context, including efforts to promote gender equality. They must also be adaptable to changing social and economic and social conditions and to lessons learned through implementation.
• The success of Energy Safety Nets depends on strong, multi-year political commitment. National-level pledges to achieve universal energy access, supported by policy commitments to social assistance for the poor and disadvantaged groups, may be necessary to ensure universal energy access goes beyond energy connection targets and includes essential energy consumption levels.

Contents

• Introduction    
• What are Energy Safety Nets? Grid electricity, Off-grid electricity, Clean cooking    
• How effective are Energy Safety Nets in enabling connections and consumption?    
• How are Energy Safety Nets linked to social protection?
• Conclusions

See also: Energy Safety Nets series

This practical guide for policymakers, development financiers and the international community is based on experience with Energy Safety Nets in six countries (Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Mexico).

Energy Safety Net is an umbrella term for government-led approaches to support very poor and vulnerable people to access essential modern energy services, defined as electricity and clean fuels and technologies for cooking, by closing the affordability gap between market prices and what poor customers can afford to pay.  

The principle of "leave no one behind," which is inherent to the Sustainable Development Goals, means that even the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world should have access to modern energy services.

Energy Safety Nets can make physical access (i.e., connections) to electricity or clean fuels affordable or they can make the unit price of electricity or fuel affordable to consume. Energy Safety Nets include some form of targeting or eligibility criteria to ensure that benefits accrue to those who need them.