Background

In cities across India, people do not often realize how easy it is to get electricity. However, many underserved schools, charities, and other community organizations have a hard time finding reliable, inexpensive sources of energy for their work. Increased energy prices, inefficient use of energy, and issues related to the availability of renewable energy are increasing pressure on these groups that already operate with very limited resources. These issues will not only impact their operational costs but may also affect the quality of learning spaces available to children and the long-term chances they will have for success.

At the same time, it seems as though all the discussions about energy transition are focused on large infrastructure projects and policy talk. Therefore, we do not seem to be having many conversations about how smaller organizations may be able to help with the transition to cleaner energy systems. Although more organizations now have access to renewable energy options, in particular solar power, many organizations lack the technical knowledge to judge whether or not they would benefit from adopting renewable energy, financial planning tools to assist them, or practical resources to help provide support in evaluating the use of these technologies.

PHASE (Power and Habit Analysis for Sustainable Energy) was established to fill this gap. The initiative is based on a simple premise: sustainable energy changes should not only be available to large corporations and wealthy communities, but should also be accessible for schools, charities, and local organizations. All of these entities should have the ability to make informed energy decisions by receiving the appropriate data and resources that they need. PHASE will create this bridge between energy knowledge and action by collecting data, performing energy audits, conducting technical research, involving community members in the project, and providing a method for implementing practical solutions.