Miles to go before you sleep -Indian Power sector saga.

By on April 25th, 2009


Indian Power Sector has so much to do in pretty little time at its disposal but it is still far from measuring up to the  demands of the situation. Country is banking heavily on XI plan where installed capacity addition of about 78000+ MW is envisaged. But the way things have moved it is expected that country is going to achieve only 50% of what has been planned during this plan. This has been the saga for all previous five-year plans where the achievement has been even much lesser. Even though country has signed Nuclear deals with all the countries who matters in this domain but the coming years till 2030 will see a heavy reliance on coal based power plants as far as India’s power sector is concerned. This would again stir the debate on Carbon emissions. India’s thermal power plants and its continued reliance on coal has been the bane of contention between developed and developing countries like India. India has to secure its energy needs. But it can not be done at the cost of environment. There has already been debates over utility of UMPPs over CHP projects. But that should not deter the country’s planners now. 

power plant Miles to go before you sleep Indian Power sector saga. environmentLet’s walk the talk now and implement the UMPPs and the associated transmission system with full sincerity. India’s T&D losses saga is never ending and very little has been done to arrest this. POWERGRID, the flagship company of India in transmission sector, has tied up with World Bank for improving country’s transmission and distribution network. India’s transmission system needs heavy investments to augment itself. The requirements of an Integrated Energy Exchange, Long Term Open Access, Merchant Power Plants etc will need a transmission system which can take the power evacuation load, inter regional transfers of power and still has some 30% plus margins to cater to eventualities. This Indeed is a tall order and would surely need planning and execution in fine details. 
India in Power Sector has been slow off the blocks. The eighties and nineties saw very little investments in power. It is now only that investments are being carried out break-neck speed. A typical power plant has a gestation period of 3 years. Hydro power plants take much longer and requires huge investments. Country is sitting on tremendous hydro power potential in north east and eastern sector. Banking on 1200 KV and 765 KV transmission systems to evaluate power from chicken neck area over Bangladesh presents a viable option. 
Our neighbours Nepal and Bhutan have tremendous potential in hydro sector. A conference on possibilities in Hydro Power is being held in Nepal to find out further possibilities and association with India for wheeling out the excess power.
Indian Power Sector has woken up and is now working up a good pace. India has to keep committed to these plans and any change in government should not let the bigger picture go out of the sight of country’s planners.      

 

May also like to read: Indian Power Sector Revs up.


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One Response to “Miles to go before you sleep -Indian Power sector saga.”

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    February 15, 2010 at 8:37 am

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