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The electricity sector in India is predominantly controlled by the Government of India’s public sector undertakings (PSUs). Major PSUs involved in the generation of electricity include National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC),Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI). Besides PSUs, several state-level corporations, such as Tamil Nadu Electricity Board(TNEB) in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra State Electricity Board(MSEB)in Maharashtra, Kerala State Electricity Board(KSEB) in Kerala, in Gujarat (MGVCL, PGVCL, DGVCL, UGVCL four distribution Companies and one controlling body GUVNL, and one generation company GSEC), are also involved in the generation and intrastate distribution of electricity. The PowerGrid Corporation of India is responsible for the inter-state transmission of electricity and the development of national grid. The Ministry of Power is the apex body responsible for the development of electrical energy in India. This ministry started functioning independently from 2 July 1992; earlier, it was known as the Ministry of Energy. The Union Minister of Power at present is Sushilkumar Shinde of the Congress Party who took charge of the ministry on the 28th of May, 2009. India is world’s 6th largest energy consumer, accounting for 3.4% of global energy consumption. Due to India’s economic rise, the demand for energy has grown at an average of 3.6% per annum over the past 30 years. In June 2010, the installed power generation capacity of India stood at 162,366 MW while the per capita energy consumption stood at 612 kWH. The country’s annual energy production increased from about 190 billion kWH in 1986 to more than 680 billion kWH in 2006. The Indian government has set a modest target to add approximately 78,000 MW of installed generation capacity by 2012 which it is likely to miss. The total demand for electricity in India is expected to cross 950,000 MW by 2030. About 70% of the electricity consumed in India is generated by thermal power plants, 21% by hydroelectric power plants and 4% by nuclear power plants. More than 50% of India’s commercial energy demand is met through the country’s vast coal reserves. The country has also invested heavily in recent years on renewable sources of energy such as wind energy. As of 2008, India’s installed wind power generation capacity stood at 9,655 MW. Additionally, India has committed massive amount of funds for the construction of various nuclear reactors which would generate at least 30,000 MW. In July 2009, India unveiled a $19 billion plan to produce 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020. Electricity losses in India during transmission and distribution are extremely high and vary between 30 to 45%. In 2004-05, electricity demand outstripped supply by 7-11%. Due to shortage of electricity, power cuts are common throughout India and this has adversely effected the country’s economic growth. Theft of electricity, common in most parts of urban India, amounts to 1.5% of India’s GDP. Despite an ambitious rural electrification program, some 400 million Indians lose electricity access during blackouts. While 80 percent of Indian villages have at least an electricity line, just 52.5% of rural households have access to electricity. In urban areas, the access to electricity is 93.1% in 2008. The overall electrification rate in India is 64.5% while 35.5% of the population still live without access to electricity. According to a sample of 97,882 households in 2002, electricity was the main source of lighting for 53% of rural households compared to 36% in 1993. Multi Commodity Exchange has sought permission to offer electricity future markets. Transmission of electricity is defined as bulk transfer of power over a long distance at high voltage, generally of 132kV and above. In India bulk transmission has increased from 3,708ckm in 1950 to more than 165,000ckm today(as stated by Power Grid Corporation of India). The entire country has been divided into five regions for transmission systems, namely, Northern Region, North Eastern Region, Eastern Region, Southern Region and Western Region. The Interconnected transmission system within each region is also called the regional grid. The transmission system planning in the country, in the past, had traditionally been linked to generation projects as part of the evacuation system. Ability of the power system to safely withstand a contingency without generation rescheduling or load-shedding was the main criteria for planning the transmission system. However, due to various reasons such as spatial development of load in the network, non-commissioning of load center generating units originally planned and deficit in reactive compensation, certain pockets in the power system could not safely operate even under normal conditions. This had necessitated backing down of generation and operating at a lower load generation balance in the past. Transmission planning has therefore moved away from the earlier generation evacuation system planning to integrate system planning. While the predominant technology for electricity transmission and distribution has been Alternating Current (AC) technology, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology has also been used for interconnection of all regional grids across the country and for bulk transmission of power over long distances. Certain provisions in the Electricity Act 2003 such as open access to the transmission and distribution network, recognition of power trading as a distinct activity, the liberal definition of a captive generating plant and provision for supply in rural areas are expected to introduce and encourage competition in the electricity sector. It is expected that all the above measures on the generation, transmission and distribution front would result in formation of a robust electricity grid in the country.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : Production of electricity by thermal, nuclear and thermal power |
