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Indias non-fossil energy capacity has crossed 300 GW, marking a major shift in the countrys power sector, with grid management and transmission expansion emerging as key challenges, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal said on Thursday.
We are already at 300 gigawatts of non-fossil, and now going forward, the challenges are entirely different. Grid management itself is a challenge, and building transmission systems is a challenge, Agarwal said. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 2nd Indian Power Sector Conference, Building a Reliable, Flexible and Market-Ready Power System. Agarwal said the government has moved a Cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultation on a new power policy, which is being framed keeping in view the changing requirements of the sector and the objectives of Viksit Bharat 2047. He said the existing power policy was issued in 2005, when the sector faced a different set of challenges, including shortages and limited access to flexibility. The last policy we issued in 2005, there were very different sets of challenges. Access to flexibility was one such challenge and shortages were another challenge. We were only initiating at that point of time and thinking about new sources of renewable energy, the sun and the wind, he said. The Power Secretary said the sector now needs financially sustainable, self-reliant and technology-driven distribution companies to meet emerging requirements. I think that is another way forward, where we need to really go, he said. Agarwal also stressed the need to promote open access to make Indian industry more competitive and encourage industries to shift towards green power. Open access, yes, because if we really want our industry to be competitive, we need to promote open access in a big way, he said. On grid utilisation, Agarwal said fluctuations were inevitable but better utilisation of existing transmission infrastructure would be important. If the grid is utilised better, say 24 by 7, that is the best. You cant expect the grid to be utilised 24 by 7 at a particular level. There will be fluctuations, but given those fluctuations, if we can really use 60 per cent of the grid capacity, I think that is a fairly good strategy, he said. On smart meters, Agarwal said Indian chip developers and manufacturers were working on designing chips that would be tested and validated before commercial production. Procurement of such products would provide an assured market for domestically designed chips and meters using them, he said. On coal availability for power plants, Agarwal said unusual rainfall patterns had affected coal supplies in producing regions even as electricity demand remained elevated in consuming areas. Particularly in this month of September, coal-based electricity generation demand is elevated by 14 per cent plus, he said. Agarwal said Coal India Ltd, captive mining companies and commercial coal producers were working to address the supply situation. He added that there was currently no logistics constraint, with more than 440 coal rakes being received daily. Domestic supply is actually very good. Now it has picked up and with the recession in rainfall, production will only go up, he said. He also said an option had been provided to import 654 MW of power through the power market, except during the 1800-2400 hours period. This allows power imports for 18 hours a day, based on demand and market bidding. The broader objective of the proposed new power policy would be to address the changing needs of the sector, including flexibility, grid management, transmission expansion, distribution reforms and greater participation of industry through open access. (ANI)
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