The Hindu Business Line : Power up the initiatives

Measures to conserve electricity and manage demand better will succeed only when there is greater awareness of not just the benefits, but the schemes as well.

If one thought the electricity managers would make up for the miserable performance in the Tenth Plan (2002-07), when the capacity added was just half the 40,000 MW targeted, one was mistaken. The achievement so far this year is worse, just 40 per cent of target, and the already acute power shortage across the country can only get worse this summer. One cannot therefore overemphasise the importance of managing the demand better at the customer’s end. Developed countr ies set great store by demand-side management, which refers to a series of measures taken to change the consumption pattern by either encouraging customers to switch over to more energy-efficient appliances or persuading them to reduce their use of electricity during peak hours — typically three hours each in the morning and evening — by charging different tariffs during peak and off-peak hours. This results in increased end-use efficiency and helps the electricity utility manage its scarce generation resources better. The Power Ministry in India has been highlighting the benefits of conserving electricity and managing the demand better, but a lot more needs to be done given the nearly 13 per cent shortage in peak demand and 8 per cent deficit in energy availability. True, demand-side management is not going to completely solve the problem of power shortage, but it will at least result in a more efficient use of the available capacity.

Demand-side management and energy conservation measures have been showing improved results over the years. According to the Power Ministry, from about 45 MW equivalent of avoided capacity in 1999, energy conservation measures have taken this figure to 308 MW this year; industrial units participating in the scheme organised by the Ministry are said to have saved Rs 1,843 crore this year as against Rs 205 crore in 1999.

The Ministry has initiated various steps such as an energy code for buildings, a massive campaign to supply compact fluorescent lamps at the price of incandescent bulbs and energy-labelling of household appliances. However, all these will succeed only when there is greater awareness of not just the benefits, but the schemes as well, which calls for increased effort at educating the public. The Ministry has estimated that its target of replacing 400 million incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps will result in a saving of 6,000-10,000 MW of capacity. That will not wipe out the shortage, given the current deficit of about 13,000 MW, but the programme, if implemented quickly and wholeheartedly, can deliver substantial relief.

Related Stories:
Power capacity addition trips in first half of current fiscal
PM's action plan to end power shortages by 2012
Power shortage: Centre mulling multiple time zones
States buying high-cost power to tide over summer crisis