On Wednesday, Goa power minister Nilesh Cabral told the media that Goa would attain 100% household electrification by the end of 2021. His concern has been households in villages that were without a power supply for a very long time. Initially, 250 homes in Goa did not have electricity. So far, they have provided connections to 150, and 100 would be rendered shortly. The offer would be presented before the cabinet soon, and after the cabinet approval, a contractor will commence the work, the power minister said. The homes that are without electricity are situated all over the hinterlands. The problem emerged due to the houses’ inaccessibility from the grid. In such cases, the process of providing electricity connections is lengthy. Those homes are in the remotest parts of the state, mostly in forested areas. The electricity department has given such homes with basic plug points through renewable energy sources. That’s how they are dealing with the issue. Another area the ministry has been working on is solar energy projects. Starting from zero, he said that they have set up 20 solar rooftops within two years. More projects are in the offing. They are looking at the renewable energy sector. They will shortly come out with an open access policy, and after cabinet permission, an expression of interest will be floated. Under the open access policy, an entity or an individual will be permitted to sell solar energy produced by them to whoever they want but will be obligated to provide the government with an equal quantum of usage during peak time. People will be able to have a solar establishment and invest in battery storage. During the day, a generator of solar energy will be able to utilise the electricity department’s grid for free and supply to any consumer, but (will have to) provide 50% to the government between 6 pm and 11 pm. They will be working on their terms and conditions. Image Source Also read: Sterlite gets Rs 324 cr inter-state power transmission project