In recent weeks, Power minister Piyush Goyal has announced several new initiatives aimed at fulfilling the government’s promise to provide a steady supply of electricity to every household by 2019. The measures include increasing the power produced by nuclear and solar plants, as well as investing in new hydel plants. But by focusing on expensive, long-term solutions, the government is ignoring a quicker fix, say experts: it should look to make the existing systems more efficient.
India’s current power generation capacity is 240 gigawatts. Of this, 32.5% of this is lost across all the states just during transmission and distribution. In some states, 50% of power is lost during transmission, according to The Energy and Resources Institute.
“If the government wants immediate results, they should focus on the existing power establishments,” said Dipesh Dipu, associate professor, Centre for Energy, at the Administrative Staff College of India. “It takes at least two or three years to identify land,” Acquiring it is a major roadblock. Setting up the power plant takes another couple of years. None of the new projects can be functional in the next five years."
The high transmission and distribution losses are mainly because of outdated power lines, leaking cables and poor maintenance. Until the government fixes these problems, it makes little sense to increase generation capacity; it will only be like “pouring water into a bucket with large holes”, according to a paper on the subject authored by MS Bhalla, a consultant with TERI.
Although the problem is widely acknowledged, Minister of Power and Coal Piyush Goyal offered no solutions when he announced initiatives to combat the power crisis.
Single regulatory body
Currently, power generation, transmission, and distribution take place under independent authorities. Generation capacity ownership in India is divided as follows: 57% under the state sector, 32% under the central sector, and 11% under the private sector.
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission monitors inter-state activities and regulates tariffs for independent power producers and state-owned electricity generating companies, but does not check losses due to transmission and distribution.
State Electricity Regulatory Commissions are independent and autonomous from the CERC. “There is no single governing body to which all independent power producers and state owned agencies have to answer to,” writes Vinay Pattanashetti, a professor at the Angadi Institute of Technology and Management. “There needs to be a body that will keep a check on the T&D losses and factor that into deciding tariff.”
National power grid
The previous government planned to combine the five regional grids to establish a national grid. Synchronising all the regional grids would help in optimal utilisation of power transmitted from resource-centric regions – where power is produced – to load centric-regions where it is most consumed. A national grid would also facilitate the trading of power across regions.
To create a national grid, state governments will have to ensure no one draws more power than the agreed limit or impacts another state’s quota. An efficient and accountable body needs to be created to manage the national grid.
One big handicap is that there are few routes to bring power from the northern part of the country to the south. A national grid means there would have to be functional transmission lines between the regional grids, so it would be easy to transport power from one grid to the other.
Technical and commercial loss
Technical losses occur due to outdated conductors and transmission equipment. Commercial losses are caused by pilferage, defective meters, and errors in meter reading. Unmetered supply to agricultural pumps and single point connections to small domestic consumers is one of the major reasons for commercial losses. Countries in Europe, North America and even Asia typically lose less than 10% in transmission and distribution.
The United States and United Kingdom had T&D losses of 7% in 2007, while Australia and Canada lost 6%. In Asia, China lost a minimum of 6%, according to a World Bank Report.
“The framework for electricity generation, distribution and consumption is much more organised. The equipment is of the latest technology and well-maintained. There is no theft of electricity either,” Dipu added.
The way ahead
The government should ideally constitute a body that looks into T&D losses specifically, Dipu said. It has to identify the weakest areas in the distribution system, examining transmission lines, sub-transmission stations, wherever there is a possibility of a leakage.
“A lot of power is lost as distribution transformers are unable to contain the high load of power that it receives from the grid,” said Dipu. “The state agencies should consider installing low-capacity distribution transformers, such as amorphous core transformers, which have lower or no load losses.”
This agency also needs to set up a vigilance squad to check and prevent pilferage. “If these steps are implemented, between 70% and 80% of the power lost in transmission and distribution can be saved,” said Professor Dipu. “It will give the country access to at least 50 gigawatts to 55 gigawatts of power, which would help power deficit to a large extent. The central government should prioritise mending the distribution system rather than setting up new power plants.”
India’s current power generation capacity is 240 gigawatts. Of this, 32.5% of this is lost across all the states just during transmission and distribution. In some states, 50% of power is lost during transmission, according to The Energy and Resources Institute.
“If the government wants immediate results, they should focus on the existing power establishments,” said Dipesh Dipu, associate professor, Centre for Energy, at the Administrative Staff College of India. “It takes at least two or three years to identify land,” Acquiring it is a major roadblock. Setting up the power plant takes another couple of years. None of the new projects can be functional in the next five years."
The high transmission and distribution losses are mainly because of outdated power lines, leaking cables and poor maintenance. Until the government fixes these problems, it makes little sense to increase generation capacity; it will only be like “pouring water into a bucket with large holes”, according to a paper on the subject authored by MS Bhalla, a consultant with TERI.
Although the problem is widely acknowledged, Minister of Power and Coal Piyush Goyal offered no solutions when he announced initiatives to combat the power crisis.
Single regulatory body
Currently, power generation, transmission, and distribution take place under independent authorities. Generation capacity ownership in India is divided as follows: 57% under the state sector, 32% under the central sector, and 11% under the private sector.
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission monitors inter-state activities and regulates tariffs for independent power producers and state-owned electricity generating companies, but does not check losses due to transmission and distribution.
State Electricity Regulatory Commissions are independent and autonomous from the CERC. “There is no single governing body to which all independent power producers and state owned agencies have to answer to,” writes Vinay Pattanashetti, a professor at the Angadi Institute of Technology and Management. “There needs to be a body that will keep a check on the T&D losses and factor that into deciding tariff.”
National power grid
The previous government planned to combine the five regional grids to establish a national grid. Synchronising all the regional grids would help in optimal utilisation of power transmitted from resource-centric regions – where power is produced – to load centric-regions where it is most consumed. A national grid would also facilitate the trading of power across regions.
To create a national grid, state governments will have to ensure no one draws more power than the agreed limit or impacts another state’s quota. An efficient and accountable body needs to be created to manage the national grid.
One big handicap is that there are few routes to bring power from the northern part of the country to the south. A national grid means there would have to be functional transmission lines between the regional grids, so it would be easy to transport power from one grid to the other.
Technical and commercial loss
Technical losses occur due to outdated conductors and transmission equipment. Commercial losses are caused by pilferage, defective meters, and errors in meter reading. Unmetered supply to agricultural pumps and single point connections to small domestic consumers is one of the major reasons for commercial losses. Countries in Europe, North America and even Asia typically lose less than 10% in transmission and distribution.
The United States and United Kingdom had T&D losses of 7% in 2007, while Australia and Canada lost 6%. In Asia, China lost a minimum of 6%, according to a World Bank Report.
“The framework for electricity generation, distribution and consumption is much more organised. The equipment is of the latest technology and well-maintained. There is no theft of electricity either,” Dipu added.
The way ahead
The government should ideally constitute a body that looks into T&D losses specifically, Dipu said. It has to identify the weakest areas in the distribution system, examining transmission lines, sub-transmission stations, wherever there is a possibility of a leakage.
“A lot of power is lost as distribution transformers are unable to contain the high load of power that it receives from the grid,” said Dipu. “The state agencies should consider installing low-capacity distribution transformers, such as amorphous core transformers, which have lower or no load losses.”
This agency also needs to set up a vigilance squad to check and prevent pilferage. “If these steps are implemented, between 70% and 80% of the power lost in transmission and distribution can be saved,” said Professor Dipu. “It will give the country access to at least 50 gigawatts to 55 gigawatts of power, which would help power deficit to a large extent. The central government should prioritise mending the distribution system rather than setting up new power plants.”
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