Govt Measures to Increase Electricity Generation and Meet Future Energy Demand

The Union Minister Raj Kumar Singh informed that there were various reasons for slippage of the scheduled energy capacity addition during the period 2017-22

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Raj Kumar Singh

The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy has informed that as against the scheduled generation capacity addition from conventional sources of 51,561.15 MW for the period 2017-22, capacity addition totalling to 30,667.91 MW was achieved as on 31st March, 2022.

The Minister informed that there were various reasons for slippage of the scheduled energy capacity addition during the period 2017-22, the most important one being the COVID-19 pandemic.  Apart from the pandemic, other major reasons were:

  • Delay in land acquisitions and forest clearance
  • Disruption of work due to local issues / litigations
  • Delay in supply by equipment manufacturers
  • Rise in steel prices delaying material availability at site
  • Delay due to change in design
  • Impact of monsoons and unprecedented rains
  • Inadequate manpower mobilization by contractors

On the steps taken by the Government to address the gap between planned and actual capacity addition from 2017-22 and meet future energy capacity needs, the Minister informed that the Ministry of Power and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) monitor the progress of under-construction power projects through frequent site visits and interaction with the developers and other stakeholders, to identify and resolve issues which are critical for commissioning of projects.

The Minister further informed that as per National Electricity Plan (NEP) notified in May 2023 (20th Electric Power Survey), following projections have been made to meet future energy capacity needs:

 

Type of Capacity 2026-2027

Projected Peak demand - 277 GW

Energy Requirement - 1907.8 BU

2031-2032

Projected Peak demand – 366.4 GW Energy Requirement – 2473.8 BU

  Capacity (MW)
Conventional Capacity 2,73,038 3,04,147
- Coal 2,35,133 2,59,643
- Gas 24,824 24,824
- Nuclear 13,080 19,680
Renewable Capacity 3,36,553 5,96,275
- Large Hydro 52,446 62,178
- Solar 1,85,566 3,64,566
- Wind 72,895 1,21,895
- Small Hydro 5,200 5,450
- Biomass 13,000 15,500
- Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) 7,446 26,686
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) 8,680/34,720 MWh 47,244/2,36,220 MWh

 

The share of coal-based capacity in the total installed capacity for the year 2026-27 is likely to be 38.57% which is likely to further reduce to 28.83% for the year 2031-32. The share of Renewable Energy based capacity in the total installed capacity for the year 2026-27 is likely to be 55.20% which is likely to further increase to 66.22% for the year 2031-32.

Electricity Generation COVID-19 Pandemic Raj Kumar Singh Energy Capacity Future Energy Demand