Under Goyal, India’s power sector staged a turnaround

Prime Minister Modi’s vision to place India in the league of superpowers inspires millions of Indians to dream big. Former Power Minister Piyush Goyal shouldered the responsibility of ‘powering’ dreams of millions of children, industrialists, farmers, and shopkeepers — key stakeholders of economic growth and prosperity. 

Initiatives taken by Goyal under the leadership of PM Modi not only streamlined the chaotic power sector, but also transformed the renewable industry. Under the stewardship of Goyal: Coal production drastically improved, rural electrification accelerated, and power distribution reforms received unprecedented acceptance. 

The nearly improbable target of ‘Power for all in India by 2022’ is no longer a distant dream; it is achievable. The current government has a clear roadmap for delivering 24x7 affordable power to every household, to farmers, and industries in an environment-friendly manner. 

During 2014-17, about 60 GW of conventional power capacity was added — an average of 20 GW per year. Further, transmission capacity enhanced from 5.3 lakh MVA in March 2014 to 7.4 lakh MVA in March 2017, a growth of over 40 per cent. Further, the national electricity transmission grid has been strengthened. At this pace, India is certainly poised to achieve ‘one nation, one grid, and one price’ soon. Actual energy availability reached 11,35,334 million unit (MU) in 2016-17 from 10,30,785 MU in 2014-15.

It is pertinent to highlight that coal imports fell from 217.78 Mt in 2014-15 to 190.95 Mt in 2016-17. Reduction in coal import was ably supported by higher domestic production. The off-take/dispatch of coal of Coal India Limited (CIL) increased from 488.86 Mt in 2014-15 to 542.82 Mt in 2016-17.

Goyal deserves the credit for the turnaround in the power sector. Transparent auctioning of coal blocks, improving coal supply and increasing operational efficiency of thermal power plants, and restructuring the debt structure of state distribution power companies (DISCOMs) are certainly considered achievements of this government. Under Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), each DISCOM is expected to wipe out losses by 2019-20. Further, UDAY intends to assist the DISCOMS to be efficient and profitable. Undoubtedly, UDAY is a meticulously planned power sector reform executed with collaboration to ensure “Assured, Quality, Affordable and Reliable 24x7 Power for All”. That 26 states/union territories opted for UDAY, justifies its existence. 

Under Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme, over 25.33 crore LED bulbs were distributed resulting in an annual energy saving of 32,906 million kWh with approximate cost saving of Rs 13,163 crore. Further, UJALA helped avoid peak demand of 6,588 MW with CO2 reduction of 26.65 mn tonnes. Grameen Vidyutikaran (GARV) dashboard highlights that out of 18,452 non-electrified villages, only 3,388 villages remain to be electrified.

While the government is poised to achieve 100 per cent electrification soon, providing continuous quality and affordable power remains top of the agenda. 

Modi government is executing one of the largest renewable expansion programmes in the world. It targets to achieve a cumulative renewable installation of 175 GW by 2022 from just 32 GW in 2014; more than a five-fold increase. Today, renewable capacity is nearing 60 GW, almost double the capacity available in 2014. Government has been striving hard to build an enabling environment for faster installation, higher production, timely and efficient evacuation, grid integration, transmission, distribution, and consumption of renewable power.

Considerable efforts by the government reaffirm India’s position in the top global renewable market. India’s market-based price discovery mechanism, especially in case of large utility scale solar plants, certainly challenges the prevailing feed-in tariff practices across the globe. As a result, solar tariff achieved grid parity, therefore, solar is emerging as a challenger to conventional sources like coal and natural gas. 

Unquestionably, Goyal’s work shows he believes powering India is not just a dream, but a reality. 

The author is the Head of Department of Management Studies at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology