The Hindu Business Line : On and Off

Now that they have a fan, they leave fewer lights on. When they watch TV, they turn off the lights because the screen itself illuminates much of the house.

G. Krishnan

Cricketmania: Kanaka splurged on a colour TV set so that her son Lalu can watch cricket.

Latha Anantharaman

An hour during which everyone in the world would turn off their lights. It sounded virtuous, and our first thought was that we should spread the word. But to whom? In our quiet neighbourhood in Akathethara Panchayat, Saar and I are probably the only wasteful users of electricity. The first time the meter reader came by, he did a double take and asked, “Did you have a lot of guests this month and use hot water every day?” To save face, I said yes, though I lived alone at the time. After that I tried to reduce the monthly bill, but it has only grown.

We have scaled down from our old urban consumption levels but still far outrun our neighbours’. We use the geyser instead of firewood to heat bathing water, and we often leave it on too long. We leave outside lights on for most of the evening, sleep with a nightlight, and run a fan year-round. We switch on multiple lights for reading, and we read late in bed. There are four incandescent and two fluorescent bulbs burning every evening. The computer is on for hours, and the washing machine runs almost every day. Various gadgets are often being charged: the UPS, the laptop, two cell-phones, the camera battery, and the mosquito bat.

Many of the surrounding houses have a single blue flicker showing late in the evening, as families economically watch TV together. One day, Saar may endure films made from Henry James novels, or I may sit through documentaries on surviving in the wild, but till that happy day we will watch TV serially, and wastefully. In short, we have not seen a three-digit bill for years.

Inspiration, from down the road

As an object lesson, I contemplate Kanaka, who supplies milk to many of the families in our road. Kanaka has a family of four, plus four cows, and she is not likely to exceed her minimum bill of Rs 85 for some time. She and her family built their house in stages over twelve years and till recently had no door number, and therefore no electricity connection.

A few months ago, their parcel and house were registered in their name, they got a door number, and they immediately applied for electricity.

For over five years, the State Electricity Board has run a scheme to prioritise connections for families below the poverty line. Kanaka was not charged a deposit, and she got her connection within three days. Now that they have three or four lights on, the family’s life has changed in small but measurable ways.

Kanaka can fearlessly do the dishes after dinner instead of leaving them for the morning. When she milks the cows and carries the milk to her customers at dawn, she can see what might be slithering in the path in front of her. Earlier, she says, they had two or three hurricane lanterns. If her ten-year-old son Lalu was doing his homework and she needed to check on the cows, she would take away the lantern and Lalu waited till she came back. Now Lalu can study without interruption in the evenings. Except when he is watching cricket or wrestling.

The family has splurged on a small television set and satellite dish. Kanaka watches a couple of Malayalam serials. Her husband follows the news intently, she says. Before, they didn’t pay attention to the news at all. They didn’t buy a newspaper or listen to the radio. If a child had fallen into a well or party workers were chopping each other’s arms off, Kanaka would hear about it only from neighbours. The family has bought a fan on an instalment plan.

Consumption watch

Officials at the electricity board office in Malampuzha occasionally put up posters or banners near the shops urging people to save electricity, but they say wastefulness is not an issue in the Malampuzha and Akathethara panchayats.

The area is mostly rural, and people are habitually parsimonious. Kanaka’s family already keeps a watch on its consumption. Now that they have a fan, they leave fewer lights on. When they watch TV, they turn off the lights because the screen itself illuminates much of the house. Even on the first day they had electricity, Kanaka asked us where she could find CFL bulbs.

Consumption of electricity in Kerala came down by 400 MW during peak hour in March. Families have gone so far as to turn off their refrigerators, so, in spite of the drought, load-shedding has been lifted. Perhaps it is time I too followed Kanaka’s lead and treated my electricity as a precious gift.

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