Towards an ethnography of electrification in rural India: Social relations and values in household energy exchanges

Singh, Abhigyan; Strating, Alex T.; Romero, Natalia; Dijk, Hylke W. van; Keyson, David V.

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2017.06.031

Cited by 28 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…There are different types of studies on smart grid, e.g., some cover only one aspect such as social [80,81,[86][87][88][89] or economic [46,90,91], or technological, while others cover multiple aspects such as socio-economic [85,92], or socio-technical [93], or techno-economic [28], or all three aspects [74,83]. Although this paper does not cover the technological aspect in detail, other existing research examines this technological aspect spanning various areas such as PV systems, VPPs, storage, DERs, and demand-side management.…”

Section: Socio-economic-technological Aspectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a need for understanding social interactions in social networks because social interactions are critical for smart grid adoption [80,81]. An ethnographic study examined the exchanges of energy between households in rural India for three months [86]. The concept of "circle of mutual energy exchange" is introduced and describes "mutual energy sharing" and "mutual energy trading" as co-existing modes of energy exchanges.…”

Section: Socio-economic-technological Aspectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concept of "circle of mutual energy exchange" is introduced and describes "mutual energy sharing" and "mutual energy trading" as co-existing modes of energy exchanges. The analysis shows that "social relations and cultural values influence energy exchanges between households" [86].…”

Section: Socio-economic-technological Aspectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A significant topic for future research is the emerging forms of mutuality in upcoming energy initiatives where digital platforms enable energy exchanges [86]. For example, this could include exploring how Facebook and other social media platforms can act as an enabling platform for energy sharing initiatives such as Vandebron in The Netherlands and Brooklyn Micro-grid in the USA [86]. A future study could also cover the different challenges encountered when using these digital platforms.…”

Section: Socio-economic-technological Aspectmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prosumer Communities and Relationships in Smart Grids: A Literature Review, Evolution and Future Directions

2018

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Smart grids are robust, self-healing networks that allow bidirectional propagation of energy and information within the utility grid. This introduces a new type of energy user who consumes, produces, stores and shares energy with other grid users. Such a user is called a “prosumer.” Prosumers’ participation in the smart grid is critical for the sustainability and long-term efficiency of the energy sharing process. Thus, prosumer management has attracted increasing attention among researchers in recent years. This paper systematically examines the literature on prosumer community based smart grid by reviewing relevant literature published from 2009 to 2018 in reputed energy and technology journals. We specifically focus on two dimensions namely prosumer community groups and prosumer relationships. Based on the evaluated literature, we present eight propositions and thoroughly describe several future research directions.

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Section: Socio-economic-technological Aspectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Socio-economic-technological Aspectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Socio-economic-technological Aspectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Socio-economic-technological Aspectmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prosumer Communities and Relationships in Smart Grids: A Literature Review, Evolution and Future Directions

2018

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“…Whereas most social science research on ‘energy trading’ among households with access to off‐grid renewable energy assumes that these energy exchanges are motivated by rational choice theory, anthropologists show that they are informed by complex logics of exchange. In rural India, for example, Abhigyan Singh and colleagues argue that villagers with access to off‐grid solar electricity engage in both mutual and market exchanges as they provide electricity access to those who lack it (Singh, Strating, Romero Herrera, van Dijk & Keysen ). Motivated by culturally specific moral obligations of kinship, energy providers engage in mutual exchanges with people in their kin network, emphasizing ‘morality, sociability and sociality’, but engage in market exchanges with non‐kin, prioritizing ‘calculations, strategizing for material benefits, profit, economistic and rational thinking’ (Singh et al .…”

Section: Energy Exchangesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boom to bust, ashes to (coal) dust: the contested ethics of energy exchanges in a declining US coal market

Smith

2019

Royal Anthropological Inst

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This essay explores how rank‐and‐file producers of energy evaluate the ethics of energy exchanges, which sheds light on some of the unexamined assumptions animating anthropological studies of energy and ethics. Exploring how coal miners experience a massive downturn in Wyoming, the centre of US coal production, reveals differing logics of exchange between the producers and consumers of electricity. Most Americans engage with electricity as consumers through a commodity framework, paying utility companies a fee to purchase kilowatt hours that are abstracted from their productive origins. In contrast, the miners experience energy as more of a gift exchange, keeping in view the network of the ultimate consumers of the coal they produce. These differing logics of exchange entail different ethical obligations in the face of the termination of those relationships as the country moves away from coal‐fired electricity, helping to explain the outrage that was felt in ‘coal country’ – an outrage that Donald Trump exploited for political purposes during the 2016 US presidential election.

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Co-creating Responsible Energy Systems

Hunink

Kamp

Blom

2019

Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering

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Energy system projects in countries like India are often failing. Not only because of technical or economical barriers, but mainly institutional and social issues are at the base of these failures. A co-creation, or participatory, process to align all demands and requirements of the different stakeholders is required. This paper takes evidence from literature on co-creation and energy systems and from case study research in India to help define an approach towards such a co-creation process as a use case for the application of the Responsible Innovation Systems framework. A discussion on co-creation as a solution generates a number of recommendations, after which a set of characteristics is concluded that the co-creation process of energy systems should have towards a responsible approach, so that more robust and sustainable innovations might emerge.

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Towards an ethnography of electrification in rural India: Social relations and values in household energy exchanges

Cited by 28 publications

References 34 publications

Prosumer Communities and Relationships in Smart Grids: A Literature Review, Evolution and Future Directions

Prosumer Communities and Relationships in Smart Grids: A Literature Review, Evolution and Future Directions

Boom to bust, ashes to (coal) dust: the contested ethics of energy exchanges in a declining US coal market

Co-creating Responsible Energy Systems

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