This was stated by Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of State (I/C) of Power while addressing the media in New Delhi today. The Minister disclosed that total installed capacity of 400 GW will be required by 2022 to meet the power demand, which is a huge challenge for the country.
Mr. Scindia opined that availability, adequacy, and affordability have to be the crux of power sector strategy in India. For this, the emphasis of power sector development should be on capacity addition, transmission and last mile connectivity.
In a major achievement, the southern grid connectivity was achieved three months ahead of schedule with the commissioning of 765 Kv Raichur-Sholapur Transmission line on 31st December, 2013. With this the power system has stepped into a new era i.e., One Nation, One Grid, One Frequency, the minister added. He said that the country will have the largest transmission capacity in the world in the next four to five years.
Mr. Scindia said that the RGGVY scheme has been extended to the 12th Plan and for the balance of the 13th Plan, covering habitations with the population of 100 and above. More than Rs. 35000 cr have been approved for the completion of the scheme in the 13th Plan.
Speaking about the supply of gas to the coal sector, the Minister said that after the latest decision of the Govt. to cap the supply of domestic gas to the fertilizer sector, nearly 9 MMSCMD of additional gas will be available to the power sector over the next three years.
The Minister admitted that the shortage of gas supply has become a matter of concern since nearly 20 GW of capacity is tied up in gas based power projects.
With respect to the supply of coal to the power sector, the Minister said that a remarkable achievement has been signing of 157 FSAs with total capacity of 72 GW out of a total of stipulated 78 GW in a record time of 2 and half months. Mr. Scindia disclosed that 9 applications have been received for Odisha UMPP and 8 for Cheyyur (Tamil Nadu), the bids for which will be opened on 26th February, 2014.
The Minister elaborated that several level of redundancies have been put in place and these mechanisms are now institutionalized to ensure grid security. Frequency band has been tightened which is now closer to international norms and congestion charges have been imposed to ensure that everybody follows the guidelines. Similarly, autonomy to POSOCO is also under process.
The Ladakh region of J&K will be connected with the National Grid soon since the Cabinet has approved the transmission project between Srinagar and Leh along with the associated transmission lines as well as sub stations.
This will enable remote areas of Leh and Kargil to benefit from the much needed power supply during winter as well as allow evacuation of excess power in summer from NHPC Power Plants of Nimmo Bazgo, and Chutak recently commissioned in the Leh/Kargil area. The Minister added that his Ministry has been working closely with the Ministry of Environment and Forests for speedy clearances.
More than 4800 MW of Hydro Capacity received wildlife/environment/forest clearances recently as a result of these efforts. Similarly, E-GoM has been set up to expedite Hydro Projects in Arunachal Pradesh.
Speaking on the issue of subsidy on power, the Minister said that if the states wish to give subsidy on electricity, then they must re-imburse the subsidy amount to the concerned DISCOM immediately to ensure revenue neutrality of the DISCOM.
The Financial Restructuring of DISCOMs is doing well in the four states of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, UP & Haryana with an FRP amount of Rs 95,247 cr finalized and bonds worth Rs 46,707 cr already issued, the Minister added.
