Environment Analysis: Power Sector In India
Introduction
Indian Power Sector is witnessing significant churn after the enactment of Electricity Act 2003. Many private players are entering into the business and the existing ones are going for significant expansion. State electricity boards are moving towards unbundling, complying with the Electricity Act 2003, amidst protests from various unions. This whole scenario makes this sector an interesting one to do an environmental analysis.
Political
In the political domain, the Parliament passed the Electricity Act 2003 in the year 2003 which is being seen as a harbinger of change in the Indian power sector. The government has also laid down the Electricity Policy. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission at the center level and State Electricity Regulatory Commission’s at the state level are being set up as mandated by the Electricity Act.
The government has mandated that the power companies set up some of their capacity in non-conventional energy like wind, solar etc.
For the Eleventh Five Year Plan, the planned capacity is 68869 MW and for the Twelfth Five Year Plan is 82000 MW. Going by the current pace at which the capacities are getting on stream, the target is likely to be missed.
Recently the Power Minister asked the power companies to come together and change the definition of commission, commercial operation and synchronization so that a clear picture is obtained when the new generation will be commercially available.
The power distribution segment is being aided by the APDRP to facilitate upgrading of the distribution network.
Economic
Power sector is a capital intensive sector. In addition to this it often plagued with rising fuel prices. Many of the power plants are running on Naphtha & natural gas which often seen rising prices. As far a coal is concerned, the ash content in the coal produced in India is high...
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