The Hindu : Business : Kalam calls for reducing power losses

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 25, 2004

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Business

Kalam calls for reducing power losses

By Alok Mukherjee

NEW DELHI, AUG. 24. Expressing concern over mounting transmission and distribution (T&D) losses in the power sector, the President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, today asked the Union Power Ministry to bring down these losses from 31,000 MW to 12,000 MW within the next three years. The President pointed out that in developed countries, the T&D losses were only 12,000 MW, which meant India was losing an additional 19,000 MW, compared to the developed world.

Addressing a gathering of power sector executives here where he gave away awards to outstanding power stations, Mr. Kalam said if the country were to set up fresh capacity to cover up for the additional loss of 19,000 MW, it would cost over Rs. 76,000 crores at a conservative estimate of Rs. 4 crores per MW. "This is the magnitude of the problem we are faced with. We need to take urgent action to remedy the situation and bring down this loss by working on mission mode," he added and asked the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to play a key role in monitoring the situation and ensuring that the targets were achieved within the next three years.

With regard to minimising the cost of producing electricity through thermal technology, he asked the Power Ministry to work in close coordination with the Ministries of Coal and Railways to ensure supply of quality coal and its timely delivery at the power plants.

He said there was a need for a Cabinet directive to follow a consortium approach among various Ministries including Urban Development, Surface Transport, Agriculture and Environment with the three core Ministries of Power, Coal and Railways to work towards generation of cost-effective quality power.

The President appreciated the fact that the plant load factor of thermal power stations had increased from 57 per cent in 1992-93 to 73 per cent in 2003-04 and said the aim should be to increase it to 80 per cent which itself would be equivalent to generating 7,000 MW of additional power which otherwise would require Rs. 28,000 crores of investment. He also advocated use of improved technologies to reduce cost of infrastructure, operation and maintenance of power plants.

Expressing doubt over the availability of coal in the long term, Mr. Kalam suggested the use of alternative sources of energy such as bio-diesel through plants such as Jatropa. He asked the Power Ministry to construct a 500 MW power plant designed to use exclusively either bio-diesel or solar energy during the Tenth Plan. The President also stressed on optimum utilisation of fly ash produced during electricity generation to reduce environmental pollution and avoid land usage for ash dumping.

During the function, awards were given to Andhra Pradesh's State generating company, APGENCO, and the National Thermal Power Corporation's stations.

Other stations figuring in the higher category awards included some stations of Nuclear Power Corporation, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadn Nigam, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Gujarat State Electricity Corporation, Karnataka Power Corporation, Neyveli Lignite Corporation and Punjab State Electricity Board.

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