Reuters reported that power was restored to northern and eastern India on August 1st 2012, after two days of grid failure that plunged hundreds of millions of people into darkness.
India has struggled to provide reliable power supplies to its 1.2 billion people and faces problems along the generation, transmission and distribution chain.
Here are some facts about the generation, transmission and distribution in India's power sector.
Generation:
India had 205,340 MW of installed power capacity at the end of June 2012. India's electricity generation for the fiscal year 2011-12 rose 8.1%. But it still suffered from a peak hour shortfall of 10.6%.
Thermal power comprised of coal, natural gas and diesel accounts for 80% of the country's generation. Coal use alone accounts for two thirds.
India has a shortage of domestic coal as output at state run Coal India Limited, a near monopoly, has stagnated due to delayed environmental clearances, land acquisition troubles and little investment in advanced technologies.
Many power companies subsequently have to look for coal mines overseas and source more expensive imports.
In June 2012, coal based thermal plants ran at 72% capacity utilization mainly due to fuel shortages and transmission constraints.
A shortage of domestic natural gas supplies and a weak appetite for costly imports has meant that most of the natural gas fired power plants run at half capacity.
Government data shows there is an average delay of 15 months in the construction of new power plants.
India plans to add 88,000 MW of generation capacity in the five years from 2012-2017. The country added about 55,000 MW in the previous five year period to March 2012.
Transmission and Distribution:
Power is transferred in bulk at high voltage of 132KV and above through five regional transmission grids.
Power Grid Corporation of India, which oversees the transmission of electricity between states, plans to invest USD 3.6 billion in 2012-13, 11% more than a year ago, to expand capacity.
Average electricity demand has risen to 75 to 80 terawatt hours (TWh) per year from 50 TWh per year just five years ago, according to PwC India. Rising industrial consumption and higher use of electric consumer goods during the economic boom has put pressure on the grid.
Distribution companies, mostly state-owned, are saddled with about USD 35 billion in debt.
Tariffs haven't risen enough for years to cover costs for subsidies, corruption and inefficiency, nor has electricity theft been checked, forcing electricity distributors into losses as high as 40% in some states, while the country wide average is 27%.
The five states posting the greatest cash losses are Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Source - Reuters
(www.coalguru.com)
