Indian Power Industry Presents Huge Growth Opportunities

The Ministry of Power has set a goal⎯Mission 2012: Power for All. Based on the 17th EPS, the total energy requirement in India will increase to 968,659 GWh by fiscal year 2012, 1,392,066 GWh by fiscal year 2017 and to 1,914,508 GWh by fiscal year 2022. This would lead to an annual electric peak load of 152,746 MW in fiscal year 2012, 218,209 MW in fiscal year 2017 and 298,253 MW in fiscal year 2022. The northern region is expected to contribute 30.1% and the western region is expected to contribute 28.4% of the overall annual electric peak load in fiscal year 2022. The Government has estimated the total investment potential of the sector at Rs. 9,000 billion for a specified period up to fiscal year 2011. This represents a significant opportunity for capacity expansion and growth for power generation companies, both in the public and the private sector.

In line with the aggressive targets set by the government, a comprehensive Blueprint for Power Sector development has been prepared encompassing an integrated strategy with the following objectives:-
• Sufficient power to achieve a GDP growth rate of 8%;
• Reliability of power;
• Improved quality of power;
• Optimal power cost to ensure availability at affordable prices; and
• Commercial viability of power industry to make it attractive for private sector participation.The Government, through the Ministry of Power, has laid out the following broad strategies to achieve these objectives:
• Power Generation Strategy⎯focusing on low cost generation, optimization of capacity utilization, controlling input costs, optimisation of fuel mix, technology upgrades and utilization of non conventional energy sources;
• Transmission Strategy⎯focusing on developing the National Grid, including interstate connections, technology upgrades and optimization of transmission cost;
• Distribution Strategy⎯achieving distribution reforms by focusing on system upgrades, loss reduction, theft control, consumer service orientation, quality power supply commercialization, decentralized distribution and supply for rural areas;
• Regulation Strategy⎯protecting consumer interests and making the sector commercially viable;
• Financing Strategy⎯to generate resources for required growth of the power sector;• Conservation Strategy⎯to optimise the utilization of electricity with a focus on demand-side management, load management and technology upgrades to provide energy efficient equipment; and
• Communication Strategy⎯forming political consensus with media support to enhance public awareness.
(Source: RHP of Reliance Power Limited)