International Institute for Energy Conservation – India (IIEC – India) and its grassroot level not for profit partner, Shree Shakti Consciousness Foundation (SSCF) have joined hands to implement a program for improving the access to clean energy in the villages of India. IIEC and SSCF have selected Uttarakhand as the state to identify the problems being faced by the village communities due to the lack of electricity access and associated consequences.

In Uttarakhand, most of the Primary Health Clinics (PHCs) are not even equipped to treat basic illnesses. The limited or no access to electricity is one of the major reasons for this. Thus, providing even the basic treatment and vaccination is a problem. Considering the seriousness of the problem, the Sharon H. Limaye Foundation is providing the support to IIEC and SSCF from the last 3-years for the implementation of Clean Energy Access Program in the villages of Uttarakhand. During the Phase-I, the Sharon H. Limaye Foundation funded the electrification (with solar power) and supplied refrigerators and LED bulbs to 5 Primary Health Clinics. During the Phase-II (current Phase), 3 Primary Health Clinics (PHCs) and 2 Schools have been electrified (with solar power). The PHCs were provided with refrigerators for the storage of vaccines and LED bulbs were provided to both PHCs and Schools for efficient use of solar electricity.
This report provides the details about the milestones achieved during the Phase-II (until October 2020).

As the COVID-19 being spread across the world, the most required prevention measure is not the luxury, but the ways to meet the basic needs of the poor to protect them from the pandemic before it penetrates down at the community level. The kind of prevention measures like lockdown, curfew and stay at home being adopted in India, can only bring successful results when the communities in rural areas have access to reliable, affordable electricity to stay connected and continue to communicate with public services and with one another remotely.

The entire eco-system created under the Clean Energy Access Program has ensured the delivery of improved quality health services to the poor and supported the supply chain (cold chain) for transport and storage of lifesaving vaccines and medicines. The established ecosystem is also ready to facilitate the administration of COVID-19 vaccines (once available) to the communities living in remote villages.