While power producers should check transmission losses and pilferages, individuals too can do their bit by saving energy in their homes and curb misuse of electricity

We have had ‘black’ Mondays and it is now a “terrible torturous” Tuesday when millions of people had a horrendous experience due to the grid failure in north, eastern and north-east power grids. An estimated 700 million people suffered one way or another and an un-estimated loss of production, as a result.

The reason is that both Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Punjab may have overdrawn their supply leading to this collapse. Does it mean there is no mechanism that prevents an overdraw, presumably done by mistake and that there was no control or automatic set limitation for drawing power from the national grid? If this be so, there is the imperative necessity to set a system to prevent such a recurrence.

Just a couple of days earlier, NTPC had proudly announced that it had produced 8% more power in the first quarter to reach 58,875 million units as against 54,604 million units in the corresponding period of  the last fiscal.

According to the Central Electricity Authority, 37% of the country’s peak electricity demand comes from UP, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Chandigarh when the demand goes up to 39,000MW. The average demand on Monday was around 32,000MW when six of NTPC units were transmitting 26,000 MW when the collapse took place.

We all know that the power situation in the country is far from satisfactory. Imported fuel is expensive and indigenous production of coal is inadequate. With the poor onset of the monsoon, hydel power shortage is expected and in some states where the rivers are running dry, with the situation is likely to get worse.

There are a number of familiar factors that play a vital role in creating this mess. There are multiple organisations, each of which adds a bit to the misery.

For instance, the talk of setting up a regulator for the industry has been going on for sometime and the proposal is being tossed from one group to another in the ministerial jungle. It is essential that a qualified and knowledgeable person is appointed for a three to five-year period, with a clear term of reference to resolve all the issues relating to the industry, whether it is pricing, allocation or any other matter. For God’s sake we do not require a retiring bureaucrat or a politician.

Like the foodgrain wastage situation, there is a great and unassessed amount of loss of power due to pilferage. Likewise, the power waste due to the irresponsible act of the consumers, in not putting off the power connection to home appliances when not in use, adds to a substantial amount. In fact, banning GLS and making CFL lamps would be a good but small start in this direction, and bring about some relief!

At the same time, there is no reason why there is no national awareness and directive that every street lamp gets its power from solar energy? This should be a state responsibility and undertaking to implement.

The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), while no doubt is doing a thorough job, it acts as the biggest stumbling block, where hundreds of proposals of the would-be power generators are pending for clearance. Can’t we really have a simpler check list that would clear a proposal if 85% of the given requirements are met and permit the compliance of the balance 15% within a stipulated but reasonable time frame? This should eliminate avoidable delays in project work.

Finally, in a recent statement, Arvinder Singh Bakshi, chairman of the Central Electricity Authority has stated that 40,00MW of old thermal capacity is to be ‘retired’ during the 12th Five Year Plan. He contends that the country expects to have addition of 88,000MW during the 12th Plan, and that this retirement should not affect our supplies.

Far from it. Instead of scrapping these units, ways and means should be devised to bring about balancing equipments, sophisticated technology and strengthen the plants, as our consumption pattern is going up by leaps and bounds.

(AK Ramdas has worked with the Engineering Export Promotion Council of the ministry of commerce and was associated with various committees of the Council. His international career took him to places like Beirut, Kuwait and Dubai at a time when these were small trading outposts; and later to the US. He can be contacted at [email protected].)