Date:29/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/29/stories/2005082902640300.htm

Back `Step up power generation, consumption'

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , Aug. 28

THE President of the Association for Electricity Supply Industry of East Asia and Western Pacific, Mr C.V.J. Varma, has said that India's power sector growth was relatively slow compared to other Asian countries.

He said other countries fared much better in power sector development and some of the poorer economies such as Vietnam achieved an annual growth rate of about 18 per cent.Speaking after inaugurating a two-day national seminar on `Power distribution sector — managerial issues, challenges and solutions', on Sunday at the Institution of Engineers of India, Mr Varma said efforts must be made to step up generation capacity and increase per capita consumption.

Giving a comparative analysis of power development in India and China, Mr Varma, who is also the President of the Council of Power Utilities, said that the electricity generation in both the countries started around the same time but while the consumption in China in 2001 was 1,093-kilo-watt hours (kwh) per capita, it was only 408 kwh in India.

Both the Shanghai Power Corporation in China and the Calcutta Municipal Corporation of India started generation around the same time. While the installed capacity of China increased 211 times in 2003 since 1949 (when it was 1,800 MW), it has gone up to 3.91 lakh MW in 2003 as against 1.07 lakh MW in India.

The Chairman of Institute of Engineers India Electrical Engineering Division, Mr R. Radhakrishna Murthy, said India on an average was facing power shortage of 7 to 11 per cent respectively during peak hours.