From rice husk to 24x7 power, Husk Power aims to continue upward journey

Husk Power Founder Manoj Sinha says the fall in prices of solar energy allowed them to offer reliable power at reasonable rates

Growth, development, higher disposable incomes, savings may be notoriously hard to get going in developing countries but aspirations outstrip all other parameters rather quickly and India is no exception to this rule. When Husk Power founder Manoj Sinha started on his journey to bring light into the lives of residents of Bihar, his home state and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, way back in 2007-08, people were grateful for 6-8 hours of uninterrupted reliable power, especially at night. They didn’t imagine or even dream of a time when electricity would be something they took totally for granted. Yet it took less than 5-6 years to get there.

By the time Sinha and his team looked around them in 2013, gone were the days when people were satisfied with a few hours of electricity. Most customers were demanding 24 hours of reliable power and the gasification technology based on agricultural waste like rice husk and corn cobs could no longer suffice. That’s when the company reached an inflection point and decided to pivot in 2016-17. It developed a proprietary system by combining and synchronizing solar PV, biomass gasification system and batteries to deliver highly reliable, 24x7 power. Customers are offered a flexible “pay-as-you-go” energy service, using a mobile-enabled smart metering system. “The fall in prices of solar energy allowed us to offer reliable power through the day at reasonable rates to our consumers”, explains Husk Power founder Manoj Sinha, who shuttles between India and the US regularly, running his company with its sites in Bihar and Eastern UP while juggling family based in the US.

Although by then the company had many sites based on the old technology, they began to ramp up with the new mini grid based system in 2017-18, adding two to three sites every month. The company also started selling its product more aggressively to small businesses, shops and enterprises rather than just individuals and households. Businesses have seen an uptick of 33 per cent post availing the services of Husk, according to a survey conducted by the company amongst its retail customers.

The power on offer worked for people for a variety of reasons. One, the national grid - although the network had reached most places - did not offer a regular and uninterrupted supply. The last mile connectivity was simply not available. Moreover, the state electricity distribution company had no service back up even in the areas where it did offer some supply. So supply remained erratic even where it did reach. A breakdown could mean hours or even days without any electricity. Diesel gensets and other back-ups remained very much a reality. In fact Sinha estimates that 100 million residents are without access to reliable power just in Bihar and Eastern UP.
 

Manoj Sinha

Vineet Rai, chairman, Avishkaar who is familiar with Husk’s journey since inception says that as he sees it, the company’s product can at best be a transitional offering in India  as the national grid is spreading fast. He cites the example of a solar lantern companies, several of which have sprung up of late in India and he argues that these companies have a future if they diversify into a range of products and geographies. “Do solar lanterns sell in India ? Yes. Do solar lanterns sell very well in India? The answer is Yes. Will Indians need solar lanterns 20 years from now ? The answer is no”. 

He says Husk Power similarly faces the prospect of its market in India “dwindling” over time. “As I see it, the fastest growth for Husk will be in Africa and other remote areas where the national grid may be a while away. Local production is not likely to catch up with the demand there for sometime to come”, he adds. Having said that, he says Husk is already running a very profitable show in Africa and is likely to grow leaps and bounds in the continent over the coming years. The situation is far more dire in Africa and other less developed regions and is likely to remain so for a while. A recent estimate by the  International Energy Agency estimates the mini-grid market at US $ 180 billion, leading up to 2030. 

But even in India not everyone is convinced of the government’s ability to deliver 24X7 reliable power despite the spread of the national grid. There are deep seated problems with the way the national grid works including how broke the distribution companies are. The Centre for Science and Environment  which has done an independent assessment of the West Champaran district in Bihar and found that residents often face a shortage of reliable power especially in peak summer which is being met by Husk Power’ mini-grid supply. According to Samrat Sengupta, programme director for Climate Change and Renewable Energy, Husk has succeeded in offering reliable power at a reasonable power, producing clean energy, whereas many similar attempts at mini-grid in the past have failed. Although they do see a “consumer base that may fluctuate” for Husk going forward, the study found that Husk’s solution had helped many small enterprises in the area thrive through its reliable supply.

With a massive digital push, smartphones for technicians and usage of digital apps, Husk was able to maintain a 23.7 hours average uptime even during the strict curfew periods in 2020 during the lockdown. The company which now has 400 employees (from around 100-125 in 2017-18) has grown along with the businesses it services. Its latest round of US $ 25 million closed in 2017-18 will see the company through in its present expansion in India, Tanzania and Nigeria. It has also raised around US$ 2 million in debt (through Rockefeller foundation). As a result, the equity holding of the founders is down below majority. Going forward, the company is looking to raise an additional US $ 50 million in 2021 to grow to 250 sites in its areas of operation.

Sinha however has his sights set up and is looking to expand to 1250 sites by 2025. Although they don’t reveal numbers, Sinha says that his company’s yearly revenue growth has exceeded 80 per cent year on year, ever since they began on their expansion spree with the funding raised. In India, competition too has intensified with the entry of Tata Power Micro Grid in 2019, which is also rapidly growing. 

Meanwhile, backed by its strategic investors, Husk is now poised to grow rapidly over the next four years and envisions adding over 300 mini-grids in India and Tanzania, deploying 15 MW of 100 percent renewable power plant assets in India and overseas, a tiny slice of the global US$ 180 billion mini-grid pie.