The social and economic development of a country depends on the
availability of energy resources in the country. The Government of
India has realized the growing need of energy requirement in the
country and has started various projects to fulfill the overall demand.
Power
development in India started in the mid-nineteenth century. However,
the demand for power has been outstripping the supply. Substantial peak
and energy shortages prevail in the country. This is due to
inadequacies in generation, transmission and distribution as well as
theft and inefficient use of electricity.
Sources of EnergyCoal
is the main non-renewable source of energy and accounts for about 67%
of the country’s commercial needs. It is an important source of energy
for steel and carbo-chemical industries. Other non-renewable forms like
oil and natural gas are being explored in the country by two national
companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India
Limited (OIL).
Biomass, solar energy, wind energy and
hydro-power are all essential forms of renewable energy. India ranks
fifth in the world in wind power capacity.
Atomic energy is the
latest development for fulfilling the growing demand of the society.
The Department of Atomic Energy is formed to develop nuclear power
technology and application of the radiation technology in the field of
agriculture, medicine, industry and basic research.
Rural ElectrificationRural
electrification was one of the major concerns for the government in the
post independence period. Even after so many years of independence,
many households in rural India depend on kerosene for lighting and
areas which receive electricity face tremendous shortage of power
supply. However this problem has been addressed to a certain extent
through the recently enacted Electricity Act of 2003.
For the
first time in India a private utility is allowed to produce and
distribute power. This provides a glimmer of hope especially in rural
areas. As a result, small rural private and cooperative power utilities
can be empowered to quickly and efficiently supply electricity to areas
which are still under darkness. Now after the initiation of the rural
electrification program, 5, 06,401 villages out of the total 5, 87,258
villages have been electrified.
This is approximately 86.2% of
the total villages that receives electricity. The Rural Electricity
Supply Technology (REST) mission in the Ministry of Power (MOP) hopes
to electrify all villages by 2010. According to MOP officials funds of
about Rs. 10-15,000 crores will be made available to the rural power
utilities at 2-2.5% p.a. interest rate. These incentives will help
attract micro-utilities to come up in rural areas.
For any
project to be successful, it is very important that the government
works closely with the corporate sector and the NGOs functioning at the
grass-root level. While the corporate sector can provide the necessary
technological and managerial support, NGOs can create the necessary
trust in such utilities among the people andthe Government can help in
financing rural development programs. A self-reliant and prosperous
rural India will help in making India a developed nation.
National Power GridThe
Union Government has established a centrally owned and operated
National Power Grid Corporation that has been vested with the
responsibility of developing National Grid. The need for a national
power grid is manifold. Uneven disposition of energy resources,
inconsistency in growth, optimization of investment in generation
capacity addition, flexibility of adding generation along the National
Grid Conservation of Right-of-Way -- especially in areas with scarcity
of ROW like areas near hydro projects, chicken - neck area between
Bhutan & Bangladesh, forest area and wild-life sanctuaries.The
inter-regional power transfer capacity has been raised to 4350 MW from
a mere 500 MW in 1992-93. The power transfer capacity is also planned
to be enhanced in a progressive manner up to 30,000 MW by the year 2012.
The
first Public-Private joint venture in Indian Power Sector was
established with M/s Tata Power, for implementation of Transmission
system associated with Tala HEP in Bhutan, East-North inter-connector
and Northern Region Transmission System, at an estimated cost of about
Rs. 1,611 crore.
This Joint Venture received excellent response
from International Funding agencies like IFC, Washington. POWERGRID has
also initiated actions for formation of joint ventures for transmission
system associated with Koldam and Parbati, HEPs.
In addition to
the above, POWERGRID is also in discussions with various Generating
Companies/Developers/Investors for setting up Transmission Systems
associated with the IPPs. In this regard MOUs have been signed with:
1. North East Power Transmission Co. (P) Ltd.
2. ESSAR Power Ltd.
3. Jaiprakash Hydro Power Ltd.
4. Torrent Power AEC Ltd.
5. Countrywide Transmission Ltd.
And
various actions for formation of Joint Venture are underway. Further,
POWERGRID is also in discussion with Jindal Power Ltd. for formation of
a Joint Venture on similar lines.
Power CapacityThe
installed power generation capacity in the country has increased from
1,400 MW in 1947 to 1, 18,419.09 MW as on 31st March 2005 comprising
80,902.45 MW thermal, 30935.63 MW hydro, 3811 MW wind and 2,770 MW
nuclear.
For more information on “energy and power” sector in India,
click on the following links *
Power Ministry, Govt. of India *
Coal Ministry, Govt. of India
*
ONGC *
OIL *
BARC *
NPCIL *
Coal Authority *
Power Grid Corporation