Power-generation growth a dismal 2.74 pc for Apr-Oct

While the lack of credit may have stalled the progress of some of the major power projects in the country, the existing ones have also failed to perform this year. The total growth achieved by the country in power generation between April-October 2008 is a dismally low 2.74 per cent. Even though the country was supposed to increase its hydro and nuclear power generation in the current fiscal the two have actually gone down. Thermal has shown growth but not met the projected growth target of 6.2 per cent.

Hydro power has shown a negative 8.36 per cent growth between April-October this year vis-à-vis the corresponding period last year. Even though nuclear power does not contribute significantly towards the country’s power needs, it too has seen negative growth of 11.05 per cent in the period. The reason says the power ministry is low water inflows for hydro and shortage of nuclear fuel.

As far as thermal power generation is concerned, the government managed a growth of only 6.02 per cent against an achievable 6.2 per cent. “The major reason for this is the delay in achieving commercial operation of new thermal generating units synchronised during 2006-07 and 2007-08,” the minister of state for power Jairam Ramesh told The Indian Express. Had commercial operation of these projects started the country would have generated additional power of about 14,100 MW at 85 per cent plant load factor.

While there is a lag in generation at home, imports from Bhutan have gone up by 109 per cent. In all others there is a shortfall vis-à-vis the target. Between April and October 2008 thermal power generation has met 92.53 per cent of the projected target of 3, 56,303 million units.