POWER SECTOR

India has the fifth largest generation capacity in the world with an installed capacity of 152 GW as on 30
September 20091, which is about 4 % of global power generation. The top four countries, viz., US, Japan,
China and Russia together consume about 49 % of the total power generated globally. The average per
capita consumption of electricity in India is estimated to be 704 kWh during 2008-09. However, this is fairly
low when compared to that of some of the developed and emerging nations such US (~15,000 kWh) and
China (~1,800 kWh). The world average stands at 2,300 kWh2.

Generation
In the generation space, out of the overall capacity of 164 GW, the share of central and state utilities stands
at 51.8 GW and 80.8 GW, respectively; and that of private sector stands at 31.4 GW. According to CRISIL
Research estimates, about INR 7,50,000 crore is likely to be invested in the power sector over the next five
years by 2013-14. Of this, INR 4,80,000 crore is expected to be invested in the power generation space.
Nearly half of the investments in the power generation space is likely to be made by the private sector. The
total thermal power stands at 106.5 GW with 64.6% share where contribution of coal was highest followed
by gas and oil, Hydro power at 37.3 GW with 24.7% share, Nuclear at 4.5 GW with 2.9% share and
Renewable Energy Sources at 16.4 GW with 7.7% share. The overall growth rate recorded for generation is
6.6%.

Some of leading power generation companies in India are

Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO)

Essar Power Ltd.
Kaiga Atomic Power Station
Kakrapar Atomic Power Station
Lanco Industries
Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS)
Magnum Power Generation Ltd
Narora Atomic Power Station
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)
NEPC India Ltd
PTC India
Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS)
Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited (RRECL)
Reliance Energy
Tarapur Atomic Power Station
Tata Electric Companies
Tata Power
Torrent Power
Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd

Transmission
The current installed transmission capacity is only 13 % of the total installed generation capacity3 in power.
In Transmission and distribution space, the central and the state utilities own nearly 40 % and 60 %,
respectively of the total transmission lines of 2.7 million circuit kilometers (ckm). Power Grid Corporation of
India Ltd (PGCIL)- the Central Transmission Utility (CTU), is the largest transmission company in India

Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL)

POWERGRID, in line with its mandate, is discharging its responsibilities efficiently in Construction and
Operation & Maintenance of inter-State transmission system and operation of Regional Power Grids. It has
been notified as the Central Transmission Utility (CTU) of the country. Based on its impeccable performance
in a short span of time, POWERGRID was recognized as the Miniratna Category–I PSU by GoI w.e.f. Oct’98.
POWERGRID has taken lead role and making valuable contribution in Govt. of India’s nation building
schemes of Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (APDRP) and Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) aimed at bringing qualitative improvement in the distribution sector. Under
APDRP, POWERGRID is acting as Advisor-cum-Consultant (AcC) to lend its managerial and technical expertise
for improvement of distribution system in 177 distribution circles/ towns/ schemes spread over 18 States
costing about Rs. 6,626 Crore. POWERGRID has been assigned the job for execution of rural electrification in
68 districts covering 87,300 Villages at an estimated cost of about Rs. 9,400 Crore.

Distribution
The Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses still remain substantially higher than the global benchmarks,
at approximately 33 %. Reforms have been undertaken through unbundling the State Electricity Boards into
separate Generation, Transmission and Distribution units and privatization of power distribution has been
initiated either through the outright privatization or the franchisee route. In distribution, the SEBs own
nearly 95 % of the distribution network

State Electric Borads:

State Utility

Bihar Bihar State Electricity Board

Chhattisgarh Chhatisgarh State Electricity Board

Gujarat Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd.

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board

Jharkhand Jharkhand State Electricity Board

Kerala Kerala State Electricity Board

Maharashtra Maharashtra Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.

Meghalaya Meghalaya State Electricity Board

Punjab Punjab State Electricity Board

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Electricity Board

Tripura Tripura State Electricity Co-operation Ltd.

Uttaranchal Uttaranchal Power Corporation Ltd.

West Bengal West Bengal State Electricity Board

Private Distribution Companies

Companies
BSES

BEST

CESC

TATA Power

Ahmedabad Electricity Corporation

Surat Electricity Co-operation.

Noida Pvt.Ltd

CHALLENGES AND RISKS

 1) Project Execution – Needs to be expedited
2) Fuel Availability
3) Equipment Shortage
4) Land Acquisition and Environmental Clearance
5) Manpower Shortage
6) Financial

CONCLUSION

It is evident that the deficit in power availability in India is a significant impediment to the smooth
development of the economy. In this context, bridging the gap in demand and supply has become critical
and consequently, large projects are being undertaken in different segments of the sector; Generation,
Transmission and Distribution. As India has not witnessed such a large scale of implementation before, there
is a need to review and enhance project execution capabilities to help ensure targets are met. This strongly
necessitates employing a comprehensive project management structure to address the major challenges of
the power sector projects and to be able to deliver them as per the planned targets. Historical records also
indicate the presence of a weak project management structure which does not assess all the key project
aspects.