Obviously, this reserve capacity adds to the upfront investment cost, requiring a trade-off between investment and distribution costs. Since the daily peak demand in rural Indian areas typically occurs in the evening through lighting loads, replacing incandescent lights by compact fluorescent lamps can help to reduce the peak load. Around 404 million people in India, or 36% of the population, mostly living in rural areas, have no access to electricity (IEA, 2010c). Rural electrification has been an important issue of India's policies since its independence. Initially the focus was on electrification of irrigation pumps for agriculture, especially during the time of the green revolution in the 1960s.