Reform Initiative

The Indian economy is growing at a fast rate. Power is an essential ingredient for industrial growth. However, the gap between demand and supply of power is widening. The State Electricity Boards (SEBs), cannot fill the gap because of diminishing budgetary support and their inability to raise internal resources. The government has, therefore, launched a four-pronged attack to tackle the power shortage:

• throw open the power sector to private entrepreneurs,
• improve the plant load factors of the existing power plants to squeeze additional energy from the existing plants,
• restructure the SEBs to make them more commercially viable, and
• renovate older power plants and bring in additional generating capacity through non-conventional co-generation plants and energy sources like microhydel, wind and solar power.

A movement has been launched to make consumers aware of the need to save energy. The government is also vigorously promoting energy accounting and monitoring systems. Energy audits have been carried out at number of industrial units to identify energy saving opportunities and eliminate wastages. Steps have been taken to improve efficiency of domestic electrical appliances, agricultural pump sets and engines in agricultural/transport sectors.

The following measures are also being initiated by the Ministry of Energy:

• restructuring of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) with the aid of World Bank,
• reviewing of the provisions of the two electricity Acts of 1948 and 1910,
• establishment of new norms for setting up of multi-state mega projects such as for 3,000 MW and above and
• efforts to make contracts for raw material supply and rail transport legally enforceable.

Thus, the government's action plan to improve the power sector performance in a phased manner, involves short/medium/long term measures, covering both physical and financial aspects of generation, transmission and distribution of power.

Short term measures include overhaul and maintenance of boilers and optimal operation of regional grids. In the medium term significant improvements in the Plant Load Factor (PLF) can be effected through measures like proper maintenance planning. In the long term, the availability factor of older Thermal power plants can be improved by appropriate renovation and modernization programs.