PITFALLS IN POWER GENERATION

Ministry of Power in Government of India has reported that cumulative addition to generation capacity for the 11th plan period has been 34,462 against the target of 62,347 MW (reduced from the original target of 78000 MW). The tardy progress being registered in Power Generation has forced the Government to revise downward the target for 2011-12 and this may also impact the 12th five year plan period starting April 2012. India’s power crisis thus appears to be getting bigger and bigger. It is reported that the Government as usual missed the target for additional generation capacity, meeting only 36% of the goal set for the quarterly ended March 31, 2011. As pointed out by the Power Secretary, Mr. Uma Shankar before a Review meeting held recently by Planning Commission, only 2430 MW generation capacity was added in the 4th quarter of 2010 – 11 against a target of 6691 MW.

Contrast this to the Chinese performance of 10% growth in generation capacity in 2010 – 2011 to 962,190 MW and it plans to add 100,000 MW every year for the next five years.

Where do we lag and why should we be in such a hopeless condition is a question everyone in the government should be capable of answering if they are serious and meticulous in their planning at every stage and period of time. As an insider in the government of Madhya Pradesh I used to read quite a bit about the M.O.Us being signed for power generation during 1990s in the Patwa Government and subsequently in Digvijay Singh Government. Many chief Secretaries and power secretaries were participating as dignitaries and signatories to such documentation with a lot of fanfare and promises to the public. Many bureaucrats got good A.C.Rs and got promoted to higher positions and some managed to get post-retirement assignments too. But on the ground everything was a non-starter, thanks to the paucity of realistic assessment with regard to the economic parameters as was obtaining at that time. But for one or two exceptions here and there, almost all the state governments and the central government miserably failed to utilize the installed capacity fully and add additional capacity as per the needs and their plans.