Establishing the case for demand side management in the power sector, through a cost benefit analysis, in the state of Himachal Pradesh
Student name: Ms Jyotsna Mehta
Guide: Dr Subir Sen
Year of completion: 2011
Host Organisation: TERI University and Price Waterhouse Coopers
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Kulbhushan Kumar
Abstract: Demand side management and energy efficiency have been looked at as win -win options for
enhancing energy security and tackling potential environmental risks. This study, keeping in
mind the power deficit in India explores the potential in demand side management (DSM) to
bridge the demand supply gap. It particularly talks about energy efficiency options under
DSM and tests the economic feasibility of such options through a two stage cost benefit
analysis (CBA) for which the study area taken is the domestic sector in Himachal Pradesh.
The CBA undertaken is a comprehensive one, evaluating the results from four different
perspectives i.e. the utility, the participant, the total resource perspective and the society for a
period of 15 years. Even though the crux of the paper is to test the feasibility of DSM
programs against generation of additional power, the paper also looks at DSM in the Indian
context, identifying the potential barriers and existing policy framework. The outcome of the
study is expected to help policy makers and utilities which are planning to implement DSM
programs. This study was actually a part of the live project done in PriceWaterhouseCoopers,
for the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERCF)
