Impact Assessment of Household Solar System Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project (SPPAP) Monitoring, Evaluation & Research (MER) National Rural Support Programme Jan, 2016 Impact Assessment – Household Solar System Impact Assessment of Household Solar System Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project (SPPAP) SPPAP is a joint endeavour by Government of Punjab, International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) for poverty alleviation in four districts of Southern Punjab (Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh, and Rajanpur). This report investigates the impact of installing Household Solar Systems; an innovative technology introduced under community physical infrastructure schemes (CPIs) for the financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16. Authored by: Muhammad Azhar (Senior Programme Officer - MER, Bahawalpur) Supervised by: Muhammad Tahir Waqar (Senior Programme Manager - MER) Data collection by: Muhammad Azhar (Senior Programme Officer - MER, Bahawalpur) National Rural Support Programme National Rural Support Programme Page 1 Impact Assessment – Household Solar System Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5 Community Physical Infrastructure (CPIs) ................................................................................. 5 Innovative Technologies ............................................................................................................ 6 Household Solar System (HSS) ................................................................................................... 7 Eligibility criteria .................................................................................................................... 7 Configuration of HSS .............................................................................................................. 7 Cost Summary of HSS ............................................................................................................. 8 Procurement and implementation of HSS ................................................................................. 8 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 9 Sampling ................................................................................................................................. 9 Data collection and analysis ................................................................................................. 10 Functional Status of HSS ...................................................................................................... 10 Impact of HSS ........................................................................................................................... 11 Impact Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 13 Source of light before HSS ................................................................................................... 13 Monthly saving ..................................................................................................................... 13 No more fire losses .............................................................................................................. 14 Functional status of HSS ...................................................................................................... 15 Improved education ............................................................................................................. 16 Restful sleep ......................................................................................................................... 16 Improved Health .................................................................................................................. 17 Improved communication, enhanced exposure and entertainment .................................. 17 Facilitated in income generation activities .......................................................................... 18 Extent of satisfaction ........................................................................................................... 18 Incidents or loss (electric shock) by HSS .............................................................................. 19 Easy to operate .................................................................................................................... 19 Extension and enhancement of HSS .................................................................................... 19 National Rural Support Programme Page 2 Impact Assessment – Household Solar System Pictorial view of HSS ................................................................................................................ 20 District Bahawalpur, Tehsil Ahmedpur East ........................................................................ 20 District Bahawalnagar, Tehsil Bahawalnagar ....................................................................... 20 District Muzaffargarh, Tehsil Jatoi ....................................................................................... 21 District Rajanpur, Tehsil Rojhan ........................................................................................... 22 Households who have connected TV and Audio Player with HSS ....................................... 23 Annexures .................................................................................................................................. 0 Annexure A. List of 65 beneficiary households in sample size .............................................. 1 Annexure B. Questionnaire – 1 Functional Status of HSS ...................................................... 4 Annexure C. Questionnaire – 2 Impact of HSS ...................................................................... 5 Annexure D. Data Analysis Sheet for HSS Impact .................................................................. 7 National Rural Support Programme Page 3 Impact Assessment – Household Solar System Executive Summary Over the years the energy crises in Pakistan has rapidly increased. This problem led to the development of alternate solutions to overcome this issue. The solar energy system is one of the most reliable alternate and long lasting solutions for meeting the shortfall of electricity. For last two decades the trend of installing solar energy systems at the corporate and domestic level has increased significantly. The agricultural sector also utilized this advanced technology and remarkable results found in agriculture productivity. However, the access and affordability of this innovative technology for domestic use in rural areas needs more momentum. To address this issue the Government of Punjab (GoP) incorporated the household level solar energy system under the CPI component of the Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project (SPPAP). The SPPAP is financially assisted by International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). For project implementation, a well-staffed Project Management Unit (PMU) has been established under the Supervision of the Planning and Development Department of the Government of Punjab. The PMU is based in Bahawalpur District which is in close proximity to the four Project Districts. Four District Management Units (DMUs) offices in Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur are established for better coordination and management of project activities. The National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) selected through a competitive bidding process is working as the Social Mobilization Partner (SMP) of SPPAP. The community physical infrastructure schemes (CPIs) were implemented by NRSP. Since May 2015, there were 1,290 Household Solar Systems (HSS) installed in the four districts of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur in Southern Punjab. These HSS were the part of innovative technologies, the sub category of CPIs component of SPPAP. The HSS was composed of two sections, solar home appliances and solar accessories. The provision of HSS to targeted beneficiaries was carried out on a cost sharing basis. The community share was 10% of the total cost of the HSS. The total cost of 1,290 HSS was PKR 58 692,856 (58.692 million) and average cost incurred on one HSS was PKR 45,498. In January, 2016, an impact study was conducted to assess the extent of change brought in the lives of beneficiaries after having the HSS and to review the progress, functional status, and benefits of household solar system. The correlation of five key elements; relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and the impact of the intervention (HSS) were analysed. The data was selected from a sample of 65 households randomly selected from the total population (1,290 households). During the impact assessment, it was found that 100% households within the sample had all appliances working at an average functional rate of HSS was 93%. Beneficiaries are looking after the installed HSS well; they cover the ceiling and pedestal fan in the winter season. People were no longer reliant on lanterns, chimney and candles for light sources that were also dangerous for health and with the risk of fire. Beneficiaries saved money on National Rural Support Programme Page 4 Impact Assessment –