Captive Power Project – Pune Model
Essay title: Captive Power Project – Pune Model
1. THE POWER SCENARIO IN INDIA
To sustain the projected growth of the Indian economy, the country needs to meet its rising power demands within the shortest timeframe. Since India’s independence in 1947, generation, transmission and distribution of power were almost wholly the preserve of the Central and State governments. In 1991, the Government decided to allow private sector participation in the sector, both Indian and foreign, creating tremendous investment opportunities.
a) Supply Projection:
The total installed capacity under utilities in India increased to 1,01,630 MW in 2000-01 from 97,845 MW in 1999-00 (72,359 MW thermal, 25,142 MW hydel, 2,860 MW nuclear and 1,269 MW wind power). There was a corresponding increase in electricity generation to 4,99,450 million units (MU) from 4,80,000 MU recorded in 1999-00 (4,08,208 MU thermal, 74,346 MU hydel, and 16,896 nuclear energy). The overall annual plant load factor (PLF) of thermal stations was 69 per cent as compared to 67.3 per cent in 1999- 00. The per capita consumption for 2000-01 was estimated to be 374 kWh. As on 2000-01, over 5,08,077 villages had been electrified out of 5,87,258 villages.
b) Demand Projection:
The peak demand met was 67,880 MW and the energy availability was 4,67,000 MU against the requirement of 78,037 MW and 5,07,000 MU, respectively. Thus, there was a shortage of 13 per cent in meeting the peak demand and 7.8 per cent in energy for 2000-01. A realistic assessment of energy and peak power requirements is vital for planning and operation of the electricity system in India. According to the 16th Electric Power Survey (EPS), the all-India peak demand would be about 85,132, 1,15,705, 1,57,107, and 2,12,725 MW by the end of the Ninth (20001-02), Tenth
(2006-07), Eleventh (2011-12) and Twelfth (2016-17) Five-Year Plan,
respectively. The corresponding energy requirements would be 5,29,013,
7,19,097, 975222, and 1318 644 MU, respectively. Compared to the 15th EPS projections, these are less by about one per cent in peak demand and seven per cent to eight per cent in energy requirement.
c) Energy Consumption Pattern in India
The sector-wise energy consumption at national level has been presented in Fig-1 below:
Fig-1: SECTOR-WISE ENERGY CONSUMPTION
The industrial sector consumes nearly 31 per cent of the total commercial energy available in India. This is basically due to the fact that Indian industries are often energy inefficient and have least concern for energy conservation. Hence, experts believe substantial saving potential (nearly 30 per cent) through retrofitting is possible in this sector. Nearly 20,000 to 25,000 MW equivalent of capacity creation through energy efficiency measures in the electricity sector alone has been estimated in India.
AT A GLANCE:
Installed capacity as on March 31, 2001 was 1,01,630 MW, of which 71 per
cent was thermal, 25 per cent hydel, three per cent nuclear and one per cent
wind.
Till January 31, 2001, 25 private sector projects had been commissioned with
total installed capacity of 5,370 MW.
In 2000-01, 499.45 billion units of power were generated. Energy deficits
were estimated at 7.8 per cent and peak deficit at 13 per cent.
Per capita consumption of electricity is estimated at 374 kWh.
Capacity additions envisaged during the Ninth Five Year Plan is 40,245 MW,
of which 73 per cent is thermal, 25 per cent hydro, and two per cent nuclear,
but the rate of additions has been below target so far.
Transmission and distribution losses are reported at 23 per cent on an
average. These losses are being reassessed, and it is evident that actual
losses are much higher than reported losses.
Power tariffs vary widely between states and between consumer categories.
In 2000-01, the overall average tariff for the state electricity boards was Rs.
2.12/kWh,