POWER GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION The Indian Power Sector has witnessed a strong all round revival in
the last five years with growth rate averaging at about 6 percent per year. Pow
er was solely generated and distributed by the Government of India through its v
arious Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) up to 1991. Major PSUs involved in the
generation of electricity include National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Nat
ional Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and Nuclear Power Corporation of In
dia (NPCI). With the advent of liberalization policies instituted by the then Fi
nance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh under the Government headed by P.V, Narasimha
Rao, Foreign Direct Investment was allowed in the Power Sector. This did not sh
ow much difference initially. However, in the last five years, a number of compa
nies have entered the market and are installing and operating power plants in va
rious locations all over the country. Presently, the trend in the Indian market
sector is merchant power plants, which operate with 25% of output guaranteed pur
chase by the Government, and the remaining 75% at market determined price. This
is accomplished through tie-ups with power trading companies. Transmission and d
istribution of the generated power, however, is still retained under Government
control. This is accomplished through the various State Electricity Boards and t
he PowerGrid Corporation of India. The State Electricity Boards are involved in
the intra-state distribution of electricity. The PowerGrid Corporation of India
is responsible for the inter-state transmission of electricity and the developme
nt of national grid. Budget 2009-10 The Government of India has recognized the v
ase, unfulfilled demand for power in the country and has given it a top priority
in the Budget Allocation. The allocation under Accelerated Power Development an
d Reform Program (APDRP) has increased by 160% to Rs.2,080 crore in B.E. 2009-10
over last year, B.E. 2008-09. SCENARIO OF POWER SECTOR IN INDIA POWER GENERATIO
N In March 2009, the installed power generation capacity of India stood at 147,0
00 MW. The country's annual power production has increased from about 190 billio
n kWH in 1986 to more than 680 billion kWH in 2006. TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED A therma
l power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven. Water
is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrica
l generator. After it passes through
the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was
heated. The greatest variation in the design of thermal power stations is due to
the different fuel sources. Figure 1 : Diagram of a Power Plant
1. Cooling tower 2. Cooling water pump 3. transmission line (3-phase) 4. Step-up
transformer (3-phase) 5. Electrical generator (3-phase) 6. Low pressure steam t
urbine 7. Condensate pump 8. Surface condenser 9. Intermediate pressure steam tu
rbine
10. Steam Control valve 11. High pressure steam turbine 12. Deaerator 13. Feedwa
ter heater 14. Coal conveyor 15. Coal hopper 16. Coal pulverizer 17. Boiler stea
m drum 18. Bottom ash hopper
19. Superheater 20. Forced draught (draft) fan 21. Reheater 22. Combustion air i
ntake 23. Economiser 24. Air preheater 25. Precipitator 26. Induced draught (dra
ft) fan 27. Flue gas stack
POWER GENERATION CAPACITY OF INDIA Grand Total Installed Capacity is 147,402.81
MW.
Figure 2 : Break Up of Power Generation in India
Hydro Power India was one of the pioneering states in establishing hydro-electri
c power plants, The power plant at Darjeeling and Shimsa (Shivanasamudra) was es
tablished in 1898 and 1902 respectively and is one of the first in Asia. The ins
talled capacity as of 2008 was approximately 36647.76. The public sector has a p
redominant share of 97% in this sector. The NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power C
orporation) was set up in 1975 as a fully integrated Public Sector Unit for hydr
oelectric power in India that would take care of all aspects pertaining to plann
ing, organizing, and promoting hydroelectric power in India. Recently, the Natio
nal Hydroelectric Power Corporation has also grown to enfold dimensions such as
geothermal energy, wind energy, and tidal energy within its perimeters to such a
s extent that the company now has an authorized capital of Rs. 150,000 million a
nd an investment base of approximately Rs. 250,000 million. Figure 3 : Hydel Pow
er Generation from 1998 to 2009
Nuclear Power Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in India
after thermal, hydro and renewable sources of electricity. As of 2008, India ha
s 17 nuclear power plants in operation generating 4,120 MW (2.9% of total instal
led base) while 6 other are under construction and are expected to generate an a
dditional 3,160 MW. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is a
government-owned corporation in India. One of the public sector undertakings, it
is wholly owned by the Union Government and is sole body responsible for constr
ucting and operating India's commercial nuclear power plants to generate nuclear
power for electricity. It is the only power utility company in India which uses
nuclear fuel sources. All nuclear power plants operated by the company are cert
ified for ISO-14001 (Environment Management System). Figure 4 : Location of Majo
r Nuclear Power Plants in India
Thermal Power Current installed capacity of Thermal Power is 93,392.64 MW which
is 63.3% of total installed capacity. • Current installed base of Coal Based Therm
al Power is 77,458.88 MW which comes to 53.3% of total installed base. • Current i
nstalled base of Gas Based Thermal Power is 14,734.01 MW which is 10.5% of total
installed base. • Current installed base of Oil Based Thermal Power is 1,199.75 M
W which is 0.9% of total installed base. The state of Maharashtra is the largest
producer of thermal power in the country.
Figure 5 : Location of Thermal Power Plants in India
Renewable Power Current installed base of Renewable energy is 13,242.41 MW which
is 7.7% of total installed base with the southern state of Tamil Nadu contribut
ing nearly a third of it (4379.64 MW) largely through wind power. As of 2008, In
dia's installed wind power generation capacity stood at 9,655 MW.
FUEL RESERVES: From the above statistics it is clear that India is still vastly
dependent on its non-renewable energy sources (mainly coal, since we have no oil
or natural gas reserves) for its power generation requirements. At this rate, t
he fuel reserves will deplete very soon, as India does not have extensive fossil
fuel deposits. Figure 6 : Fuel Import Dependency Projection – 2001 to 2030
TRANSMISSION OF GENERATED POWER Transmission of electricity is defined as bulk t
ransfer of power over a long distance at high voltage, generally of 132kV and ab
ove. In India bulk transmission has increased from 3,708ckm in 1950 to more than
265,000ckm today. The transmission of power is handled entirely handled by Publ
ic Sector Units namely the State Electricity Boards and the PowerGrid Corporatio
n of India. This organization is responsible for the inter-regional power transf
er capacity of National Grid, which has been enhanced to about 17,000 MW in FY 2
007-08. The entire country has been divided into five regions for transmission s
ystems, namely, Northern Region, North Eastern Region, Eastern Region, Southern
Region and Western Region. The Interconnected transmission system within each re
gion is also called the regional grid. While the predominant technology for elec
tricity transmission and distribution has been Alternating Current (AC) technolo
gy, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology has also been used for
interconnection of all regional grids across the country and for bulk transmissi
on of power over long distances. DISTRIBUTION NETWORK The total installed genera
ting capacity in the country is over 135,000MW. Apart from an extensive transmis
sion system network at 500kV HVDC, 400kV, 220kV, 132kV and 66kV which has develo
ped to transmit the power from generating station to the grid substations, a vas
t network of sub transmission in distribution system has also come up for utiliz
ation of the power by the ultimate consumers. However, due to lack of adequate i
nvestment on T&D works, the T&D losses have been consistently on higher side, an
d reached to the level of 32.86% in the year 2000-01.The reduction of these loss
es was essential to bring economic viability to the State Utilities. As the T&D
loss was not able to capture all the losses in the net work, concept of Aggregat
e Technical and Commercial (AT&C) loss was introduced. AT&C loss captures techni
cal as well as commercial losses in the network and is a true indicator of total
losses in the system. High technical losses in the system are primarily due to
inadequate investments over the years for system improvement works, which has re
sulted in unplanned extensions of the distribution lines, overloading of the sys
tem elements like transformers and conductors, and lack of adequate reactive pow
er support. The commercial losses are mainly due to low metering efficiency, the
ft & pilferages. This may be eliminated by improving metering efficiency, proper
energy accounting & auditing and improved billing & collection efficiency. Fixi
ng of accountability of the personnel / feeder managers may help considerably in
reduction of AT&C loss. With the initiative of the Government of India and of t
he States, the Accelerated Power Development & Reform Program (APDRP) was launch
ed in 2001, for the strengthening of Sub – Transmission and Distribution network a
nd reduction in AT&C losses. Under APDRP, PowerGrid is acting as Advisor-cumCons
ultant (AcC) to lend its managerial and technical expertise for improvement of d
istribution system in 177 distribution circles/ towns/ schemes spread over 18 St
ates costing about Rs. 6,626 Crore. The main objective of the program was to bri
ng Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses below 15% in five years in urb
an and in high-density areas. The program, along with other initiatives of the G
overnment of India and of the States, has led to reduction in the overall AT&C l
oss from 38.86% in 2001-02 to 34.54% in 2005-06. The commercial loss of the Stat
e Power Utilities reduced significantly during this period from Rs. 29,331 Crore
to Rs. 19,546 Crore. The loss as percentage of turnover was reduced from 33% in
2000-01 to 16.60% in 2005-06. The APDRP program aims at reducing AT&C loss to 1
5%.
Figure 6 : Transmission Grid Map of India (400kV and above)
DEMAND FOR POWER India is the world's 6th largest energy consumer, accounting fo
r 3.4% of global energy consumption. Due to India's economic rise, the demand fo
r energy has grown at an average of 3.6% per annum over the past 30 years. In Ma
rch 2009, the per capita power consumption stood at 612 kWH. The total demand fo
r electricity in India is expected to cross 950,000 MW by 2030.
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Uttaranchal, Madh
ya Pradesh etc are some of the states where significant number (more than 10%) o
f villages are yet to be electrified. • • • Number of Villages (1991 Census) - 593,732
Villages Electrified (30 May 2006) - 488,173 Village level Electrification % -
82.2%
PowerGrid has been assigned the job for execution of rural electrification in 68
districts covering 87,300 Villages at an estimated cost of about Rs. 9,400 Cror
e. Cumulatively till March 2008, PowerGrid has established infrastructure for el
ectrification of 22,082 villages including 3 lakh BPL (Below Poverty Line) conne
ctions under rural electrification program. PRICING At present (2009), the price
per unit of electricity in India is about Rs. 4 for domestic consumers, and Rs.
9 for the commercial supply. The reason for the large difference between the tw
o tariff slabs is that the onus of the subsidies for domestic and agricultural p
ower is placed on the commercial and industrial consumers. SUBSIDIES OFFERED BY
GOVERNMENT Several State Governments in India provide electricity at subsidized
rates or even free to some sections. This includes for use in agriculture and fo
r consumption by backward classes. The subsidies are mainly as cross-subsidizati
on, with the other users such as industries and private consumers paying the def
icit caused by the subsidized charges collected. Such measures have resulted in
many of the State Electricity Boards becoming financially weak. FUTURE OF POWER
SECTOR IN INDIA Objectives • • • • • • Sufficient power to achieve GDP growth rate of 8% Re
iable power Quality power Optimum power cost Commercial viability of power indus
try Power for all
Strategies • Power Generation Strategy with focus on low cost generation, optimiza
tion of capacity utilization, controlling the input cost, optimization of fuel m
ix, Technology upgradation and utilization of Non Conventional energy sources. T
ransmission Strategy with focus on development of National Grid including Inters
tate connections, Technology upgradation & optimization of transmission cost.
•
•
• • •
•
Distribution strategy to achieve Distribution Reforms with focus on System upgra
dation, loss reduction, theft control, consumer service orientation, quality pow
er supply commercialization, decentralized distributed generation and supply for
rural areas. Regulation Strategy aimed at protecting Consumer interests and mak
ing the sector commercially viable. Financing Strategy to generate resources for
required growth of the power sector. Conservation Strategy to optimise the util
ization of electricity with focus on Demand Side management, Load management and
Technology upgradation to provide energy efficient equipment / gadgets. Communi
cation Strategy for political consensus with media support to enhance the genera
; public awareness.
Government Initiatives The Government of India has an ambitious mission of POWER
FOR ALL BY 2012. This mission would require that our installed generation capac
ity should be at least 200,000 MW by 2012 from the present level of 144,564.97 M
W. Power requirement will double by 2020 to 400,000MW. The Indian government has
set an ambitious target to add approximately 78,000 MW of installed generation
capacity by 2012. In July 2009, India unveiled a $19 billion plan to produce 20,
000 MW of solar power by 2020. India has committed massive amount of funds for t
he construction of various nuclear reactors which would generate at least 30,000
MW. Multi Commodity Exchange has sought permission to offer electricity future
markets. ANALYSIS OF INDIAN POWER SECTOR Demand – Supply Analysis According to sta
tistics published in May 2009, the difference between demand and supply is a sho
rtage of power of about 20,000MW, which is a deficit of about 10% in normal time
and 14% at peak load. This leads to destabilization of the national grid, which
can be avoided by “load shedding” or rolling blackouts i.e. cutting off the electri
c current for fixed duration on certain lines when the demand becomes greater th
an the supply. Such interruptions in power supply result in lower performance of
industries, leading to a slowdown in industrial growth. Position of Indian Powe
r Industry vis-à-vis to other Developing Countries The power industry in India is
still mostly controlled by PSUs in the Government sector. The bureaucratic polic
ies produce only a mediocre level of operational efficiency. The existing Govern
ment policies are not conducive for power companies to run on financially effici
ent terms. This is because large subsidies are granted to domestic and agricultu
re sector consumers. Because of these subsidies, the State Electricity Boards ar
e financially sick. They are unable to build sufficient generation capacity to m
eet demand. This leads to further increase in deficit.
The private sector in the power industry is subject to a lot of licensing boards
– Pollution Control Board clearance, Environmental clearance, difficulties in lan
d acquisition etc. Due to these obstacles, the growth of private power sector is
slow when compared to its peer countries. Availability of good quality fuel is
a major hurdle faced by Indian power companies. Coal is the major fuel for these
plants. However, mining is still retained under the Public Sector. The coal is
supplied mostly by Coal India, a PSU whose production capacity is not commensura
te to the demand. Also, timely delivery is not ensured, leading to severe fuel s
hortages. The quality of coal in India is not very good either, with around 40%
of ash content and a low calorific value. All these factors pose severe problems
with respect to the fuel availability in India. As a result, private companies
resort to depending on imported coal for assured fuel availability, and are subj
ect to international market price fluctuations. This leads to a very high cost o
f generation of power. Other countries, on the other hand, have privatized minin
g which leads to reduced and efficient fuel acquisition. Lastly, India has very
limited oil and natural gas reserves which are highly insufficient to meet deman
d. So only coal-fired power plants are a viable and economical solution to the p
ower demand in India. This results in further issues like pollution and ash disp
osal, which are not present with oil fuelled power plants. Outlook of Indian Pow
er Industry’s Transmission and Distribution As the number of players in power gene
ration increase, there will be a vast demand for transmission and substation inf
rastructure. Large investments are required to upgrade and extend the existing p
owr network, which cannot be accomplished solely by the Government. As a result,
there is a high likelihood of privatization or at least liberalization of power
transmission sector too. Transmission losses tend to be on the higher side in d
istribution of power, with about 32.86% in 200001. This has to be reduced by ado
pting high technology equipment. The reduction of these losses is essential to b
ring economic viability to the State Utilities. Power theft is a major problem f
aced by the power transmission and distribution entities in India. This may be e
liminated by improving metering efficiency, proper energy accounting & auditing
and improved billing & collection efficiency. Scenario of the Power Industry at
State Level All the State Electricity Boards are dependent on Government support
for their day-to-day running. Because of subsidized power schemes implemented b
y Government, the SEBs are unable to function profitably. So they are unable to
build new generation facilities to meet the demand. Hence industrial growth is a
ffected due to non-availability of power. Due to vast subsidization of domestic
and agricultural power, the onus is placed on commercial power consumers like in
dustry. This leads to slowdown of industrial growth.
Challenges Being Faced By Power Industry The main challenge faced by the power i
ndustry is the high cost of power production. This is due to the non-availabilit
y of fuel, partly caused by inefficient control of mining facilities. Inefficien
t functioning of SEBs leads to inefficient supply-demand management. Opportuniti
es Existing in the Power Industry The forces driving the market are the vast unf
ulfilled demand for power in the country owing to the meteorical rise in industr
ial growth and consumer market as well as ongoing liberalization of market which
enables entry of more producers. Imported fuel is becoming a viable option when
stable and long time fuel linkages are made with countries like Indonesia, Sout
h Africa, Russia, Australia where good-quality coal is abundantly available. Dep
endence on open market fuel will lead to rise in cost of power generation. Priva
tization of coal mining is another opportunity that can be implemented so that p
ower producers can economically produce fuel for power generation purposes. CONC
LUSION The liberalization, privatization and globalization policy implemented in
1991 is solely responsible for the revival and exponential rise of the Power Se
ctor in India. The Government has emphasized the importance of adequate power re
sources in maintaining the targeted GDP growth of 7% through the recession. This
is reflected in the Budget 2009-10, which has increased the allocation under Ac
celerated Power Development and Reform Program (APDRP) by 160% over the previous
year. The measures planned by the Government as part of its POWER FOR ALL BY 20
12 scheme, if implemented properly, will enable explosive growth in all levels o
f the industrial sector. All these factors indicate that the Power Sector of Ind
ia is firmly set on its track to become one of the “Sunrise Sectors” of future India
. REFERENCES http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/thermalpowerplants.htm http:/
/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_liberalisation_in_India http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Electricity_sector_in_India http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_i
ndia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Power_Corporation_of_India http://www.
powergridindia.com/ http:// www.cea.nic.in/ http://www.livemint.com/2009/05/0500
5836/India-has-12-power-shortage.html http:// www.cergindia.com/