India Turns to Irrigation Pumps to Ease Crippling Power Debt
- More-efficient pumps calculated to save $3 billion annually
- Farming accounts for 22% of electricity sales by retailers
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A plan to replace 30 million water pumps for Indian farmers may cut electricity used for irrigation by about a third, according to the country’s power minister.
The pumps will be replaced over a three-year period, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in New Delhi Jan. 18, after meeting with manufacturers, including Crompton Greaves Ltd. and Shakti Pumps India Ltd. The efficiency effort is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to reform the country’s electricity sector and make regional retailers, which have accumulated debt of more than 5 trillion rupees, profitable.