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Consumer Interface Meetings
May - July 2012
 CUTS
with the support of Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF),
India has implemented an initiative, ‘Demand Side Management
and Renewable Energy in India: Capacity building of CSOs’
over two years (2011-2012) in two states of India (Gujarat
and West Bengal) to better prepare CSOs to carry out
need-based advocacy to demand for Renewable Energy (RE) and
Demand Side Management (DSM) and participate in the
associated policy and regulatory processes.
Twenty Consumer
Interface Meetings (CIMs) were organised in respective
project state, i.e. Gujarat and West Bengal. The purpose of
the CIMs was to reach out to different category of consumers
at the state level and make them aware of the role that they
need to play in advocating for implementation of RE and EE.
Efforts were made to register the problems being faced by
consumers and possible solutions were provided to them.
Representatives of relevant consumer groups (those who
participated in the state level training workshops,
conducted earlier) were invited as one of the resource
persons for the CIMs.
A training
manual booklet in FAQ format was developed for the
participants to disseminate information on RE & EE
technologies, pay back period, long term benefits, etc. It
was used as a resource material during the CIMs. Also, on
the basis of findings from the baseline consumer survey, few
key issues were identified which were analysed and
documented in form of four stakeholder specific case studies
(Small and Medium
Enterprises/Agriculture/Commercial/Household). The training
manual and case studies were translated into local
vernacular language by both partners for their states and
were disseminated during the CIMs.
As an outcome of
the CIMs, the project was able to map challenges and
constraints being faced by relevant group of stakeholders
for adopting RE/EE having a better understanding of the
ground realities, would help the project team in effectively
engaging with the policy makers, during the policy advocacy
meetings. Further, the project partners also utilised the
opportunity to map out initiatives/interventions made by
different category of consumer groups with regard to RE/EE.
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