The Power Sector in India today offers immense opportunities for business to all the stakeholders. This was the message conveyed by Shri Bharatsinh Solanki, Minister of State for Power in his inaugural address at the India Electricity 2009 in New Delhi today. He said to fulfill its power requirement of 315 to 335 GW by 2017, India will require a generating capacity of 415 to 440 GW, after adjusting for plant availability and a modest 5 per cent spinning reserve. This implies a tripling of installed capacity from the current level of about 140 GW which in turn translates into annual addition of 20 to 40 GW. This is 5 fold to 10 fold the GW which was achieved in the last 10 years.
Shri Solanki, however, made it clear that the task of massive capacity addition needs to be shared by central, state and private sectors as each of these entities is a major stakeholder in the Indian power sector. He said that the Ministry is committed to pursue Ultra Mega Power Projects, and as announced by the Union Minister for Power, Shri Sushilkumar Shinde, as many as 13 UMPPs are being considered today.
Calling upon all stakeholders in the power sector to contribute towards targets of capacity addition, the Minister pointed out that the huge target needs a collective effort, advanced planning and timely implementation. He said best efforts are being made to plan well in advance for power projects targeted in the 11th and 12th plan periods. Government is also extending active support to project developers to ensure streamlined implementation of projects. Capacity addition in the area of Project Management has also been identified as an area of utmost importance. We look forward to an immediate action from the industry on this front, Shri Solanki added.
He said the Ministry is also focusing very strongly on building capacities for development of manpower resources to meet requirements of all business segments. New Courses have been launched in 12 NTPC-adopted and New Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) at various locations in the vicinity of NTPC power stations recently.
Terming the problem of viability and marketing risk, inadequate fuel supply coupled with operational efficiency as the issues responsible for slow pace of capacity addition, Shri Solanki said that these need to be addressed to. He said the Power Sector as a whole requires huge amount of investment and as per latest estimates there is a gap of around 5,00,000 crore in financing of capacity addition projects.
On APDRP, the Minister said that the scheme needs to be up-scaled and effectively implemented so that the target of reducing line losses from 29% to 15% could be achieved in next 6-7 years.
He said that through Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, more than 63000 villages, 80 lakhs BPL households have been already electrified. The Minister expressed hope that the state governments and other implementing partners will make brisk progress to contribute towards the mission of “Power to all by 2012”.
Stating that energy conservation and its efficient use is the need of the hour, Shri Solanki observed that India could save 20-25 per cent of the current energy use by increasing energy efficiency. He said a national campaign on Energy Efficiency involving all the stakeholders and interest groups soon. Under the National Action Plan on Climate Change launched by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Power has initiated the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency to unlock the market for energy efficiency. The Minister informed the gathering that the framework document has been approved in principle by the PM’s Council on Climate Change. MoP has already worked out detailed implementation plans for the mission. Adaptation of clean coal technology and formation of strong national grid will also aid the process of low carbon power generation strategy.
Shri Solanki said that safe investment opportunities exist in India both in capacity addition and for upgrading the transmission and distribution systems in view of the steps being taken to ensure Open Access to consumers and competition encouraged by extending various incentives to private investors. It will also allow Indian industry to network with these global companies and also identify ways for mutually beneficial collaborations.
No comments:
Post a Comment