97% of Gujarat Villages Get Daytime Electricity: Energy Minister

Gandhinagar: Responding to a question about farmers in the state getting electricity during the day, Energy Minister Kanubhai Desai stated that 97 percent of the state’s villages are receiving electricity during the day. In the remaining three percent of areas, including Banaskantha, Devbhoomi Dwarka, and Kutch districts, work is underway to resolve land and legal issues quickly. This work will be completed soon, ensuring electricity supply to farmers. Additionally, there are a total of 846 villages with agricultural electricity connections in Chhotaudepur district, where 42,670 farmers are receiving electricity during the day.

The Energy Minister said that the state government has implemented the Kisan Suryodaya Yojana as a concrete step to provide relief to farmers from the fear of wild animals, harsh winter cold, and the inconvenience of night-time electricity supply. As a result, farmers are now receiving electricity during the day, which has also positively impacted their social and family lives.

Providing details on the gradual increase in agricultural electricity consumption in the state, the Minister stated that 2,388 crore units of electricity were consumed in 2021-22, 2,599 crore units in 2022-23, 2,630 crore units in 2023-24, and 2,016 crore units in 2024-25 (until January 2025). Meanwhile, the maximum electricity demand was recorded at 10,107 MW in January 2025. Despite this, most farmers continue to receive electricity during the day.

Considering the additional power load from daytime electricity supply, the state government has allocated a total of ₹8,810 crore in the budget for upgrading GETCO’s transmission infrastructure. Under this initiative, by February 2025, 3,753 circuit km of power lines and 34 new power substations have been completed at a total cost of ₹4,412.72 crore. DeshGujarat