Events & Issues
New Delhi, 30 July 2012
Crippling Power
Crisis
‘PAPER’ PROJECTS,
HAEMORRHAGE CASH
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
In the wee hours of Monday
morning, the Northern Grid collapsed resulting in a sleepless night for people
in nine States: Union Capital Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand, J&K and Chandigarh.
Add to this, services of 300 trains, including Rajdhani, Shatabadi and Duronto
were severely affected causing inconvenience to passengers. Notwithstanding,
Union Power Minister Sushil Shinde pinning blame on recalcitrant States for
overdrawing electricity.
Importantly, this is not the
first or last time various parts of the country huge a power crisis. Thanks, to
a number of new projects, grandiosely announced to generate 54,000 MW during
the 11th Plan
(2007-12) continue to remain on paper. The reason is not far to seek: acute
shortage of coal and gas. Thereby, threatening to derail upcoming projects,
spooking private developers and investors.
The facts speak for themselves. In
Haryana, the 1500 MW Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project set up by the
country’s largest generator NTPC, in partnership with Haryana and Delhi,
is generating way below capacity as there is no coal. Ditto the case in UP and
Kerala where NTPC along with private operators are languishing for want of
fuel. In fact, NTPC is barely able to operate 26,000 MW of its installed
capacity of 32,000 MW due to continuous fuel shortages.
Pertinently, UP, the largest State
alone needs between 12,000-13,000 MW of power every day if it has to ensure
unrestricted supply. Despite power cuts, the State still requires about
10,000-11,000 MW. But the average power availability from all sources is
about 10,400 MW. Punjab’s peak demand is around 9500 MW and when
restricted over 8500 MW.
More scandalous is the situation in the
North East which is reeling under a serious power crisis. Even Assam, presently with an installed
capacity of about 376 MW is able to generate only 280 MW while its demand is
more than 1200 MW. In fact, the region’s backwardness can be attributed
directly to poor power supply and generation.
This is not all. Distribution of power
is another problem faced by States. Whereby, this area is haemorrhaging cash
thus widening the demand-supply gap. Made larger by a flagging reforms agenda
and missed generation capacity through additional targets.
True, Delhi
and Punjab are in a position to buy power as
both have hiked the electricity rates. But UP, West Bengal
and Andhra Pradesh which continue to drag their feet on increasing consumer
tariffs are simply not able to buy power from other States to plug its
deficits. Preferring, instead, to switch off electricity to minimise their
losses.
Notably, due to widespread power
shortages, specially in the Northern States, the spot power price in the
day-ahead market on the two power exchanges was hovering around Rs 3 per unit
last month. While, six States have declared power holidays another eight have
load-shedding plans lined up.
Obviously, industrial consumers have
been the hardest hid and are forced to rely almost entirely on their captive
units to generate electricity at over Rs 10 per unit. Adding to depressed
balance sheets, the cost of power through generators is double the price of
power of most States. Even then sales of generators are growing at over 25 per
cent per annum.
But States are caught in a cleft stick.
They need the generators but are aware that leads to serious health
implications. A recent WHO report has certified diesel fumes as a definite
carcinogen, causing toxicity.
Frighteningly, it can cause cancer, specially lung cancer. Further,
according to another Bangalore-based study by TERI, found diesel generators to
be the largest source of toxic gases including nitrogen dioxide emissions after
vehicles.
Besides, increasing pollution levels,
the use of gensets has not only increased production costs of small units,
eroded their profitability but also affected the economy as a whole. Given that power generation in the coming
days is not expected to be much better, unless definite measures are not put in
place urgently.
Worse, most of the hydro-electric
projects have come to a standstill due to the agitation of a religious
community and environmentalists. Shamefully, projects like Uttarakhand’s Srinagar (330
MW) where 80 per cent work is complete has been stalled.
Other projects in the doldrums are
Pala Maneri (480 MW), Bhaironghat (381 MW) and the Centre-owned Loharinag Pala
(600 MW). All were scheduled to produce power this year. The 2000 MW hydro-power station in
Subanisiri along the Assam-Arunachal border too is languishing at the behest of
the ‘green brigade’ and extremists.
Needless to say, a concerned Prime Minister set-up a high power inter-Ministerial
Committee recently to examine the status of hydro-projects along the Ganga and
suggest how the existing power projects should be altered to achieve the
required flow of water. This panel includes Planning Commission’s BK
Chaturvedi, Centre for Science & Environment Dr. Sunita Narain, ex-IIT
Roorkee’s Rajendra Singh, and representatives of various Ministries.
Undeniably, faced with this crippling
power situation, our policy-makers need to address this post-haste. Our leaders
need to ensure that on-going hydro projects are not obstructed and take strong
measures to resist any protests. It also needs to increase efficiency in the
thermal sector and encourage gas bearing plants. While Tripura’s Palatana 750MW
project is expected to generate power within a month, New
Delhi needs to explore avenues of joint collaboration with Bangladesh.
In sum, we need to realise that power
is a dire necessity for social and economic development of the country. And, as
such, both conventional and non-conventional sources of power would have to be
exploited to meet the people and industrial needs. We also need to electrify
villages if the livelihood standards of the aam
aadmi are to be upgraded and their earnings boosted. ----- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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