SELLING THE SOLUTION

SELLING THE SOLUTION

Prasanta Biswal
Innovations, SELCO

Solar energy, the ultimate blessing of Sun has proved itself as a real boon for a significant number of poor across the globe. It’s no more an experiment; it has been working as one of the major livelihood option for those people, who have used it in proper way.

SELCO solar lights Pvt. Ltd. One of the major players in solar energy sector and the first solar energy company in India is being helping the poor to have access to non-conventional energy in a sustainable way. Although SELCO is a for profit company, profit is not its ultimate goal. Profit is only means to reach the end of customer satisfaction and spreading the range of non-conventional energy services to them, who really need it.

In some part of the globe, solar energy is still under experimentation. Most of the people in developing countries believe that, solar is not a financially viable solution to light up their homes, though almost half of the population in developing world don’t have access to regular grid electricity.

Here comes SELCO, the company has clearly understood the need of the community and has ranked them as per the priority. For example one person who don’t have access to basic services like: healthcare, employment, food security, he will never prioritize the need for light at home. His first priority will be employment and food security. SELCO has clearly understood this concept fro the root and is acting as per the need of the people. So the company is concentrating first on the prioritized need of the community, such as income generation in order to bring them up to a level that, they will no more be vulnerable to basic services. Instead of using solar energy only to light up the homes, it’s brightening up the financial strength of the household as well as improving the quality of life. The vision of the company is making it accountable towards building a darkles and poverty less sustainable society.

The best example to prove SELCO`s role as the catalyst in energy sector, is the PCOs running on solar in different parts of Karnataka, India. There are more than 4 dozens of PCOs in rural as well as in urban areas of Karnataka state, where solar energy is being used to power the billing machines as well as to power the glowing CFLs in the shop.

One PCO owner in Kundapura taluk of Udupi district says “It was a matter of prestige for me, as the politicians of my village were against me and they didn’t allowed me to get power from grid to start a PCO of my own. Then I decided to go for solar, thanks SELCO, they installed an eight light system in my home cum PCO during early 1998. It then cost me Rs. 32000/, which I was not able to pay at once but the Syndicate Bank provided me a loan of 85% of the total system cost under a low interest scheme. I was not aware of the process to get loan from the bank, but SELCO people really helped me like a path finder and for which I was able to keep my head high in my village and have saved more than Rs.20000/- which I would have been paid as electricity bill if I would have taken grid connection”.

Another person, who owns a PCO powered by solar energy at kodikal, Mangalore says “the telephone authorities denied me to sanction a PCO connection, because I was running a shop which was a temporary one and was not having grid powered. I was quite frustrated but when I came to know about SELCO solar energy services, I told the telephone authority to sanction my phone and I’ll take solar power. The authorities were laughing on me but when I succeeded, those authorities are advising other people to run their PCOs on solar.”

SELCO has helped these people a lot to get financed under various low interest schemes like UNEP (5% Interest per annum) for their solar systems. Each of the PCOs powered by solar are being financed by various local and national Banks like Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank, Syndicate Bank, CANARA Bank etc. The pay back period for these loans is 5 year. Maximum of these PCOs are paying around Rs.200/p.m as the premium of the loan. Some of them have already paid pack the whole amount within 2 years also. It indicates the increase in income level and getting them out of poverty. These solar powered PCOs have really proved themselves as the security net for these vulnerable people of the society.

SELCO as a catalyst for energy service to the poor had left no doubt behind in its 12 years of long journey. It has helped its customers to the extent of preparing bankable projects and convincing the banker to finance them. The beauty of the financial system is, it is designed as per the need and capacity of the entrepreneur as well as the nature of the business. The service and maintenance of the systems are being taken care by smart SELCO technicians, who always try to help the customers as a professional friend. This step of SELCO has not only provided clean and green energy to the globe but also given livelihood to a significant number of families and established micro social entrepreneurs.

The alliance of SELCO and various responsible financial institutions is really working as a boon for some enthusiastic and committed poor, who no more are ready to be under poverty line.