Farmers in India receive electricity either free of charge or at extremely low rates for operating irrigation pump (IP) sets. The distribution utilities are compensated for the free (or nearly free) supply through subsidies by state governments. To claim higher subsidy amounts, utilities often show inflated figures of agricultural consumption. The higher consumption (by IP sets) estimates also help utilities portray lower loss in their network. Therefore, accurate assessment of agricultural consumption is crucial to calculate actual losses occurring in the system and reduce the inflating subsidy burden on state governments.
URL: http://www.ijareeie.com/volume-9-issue-5
