Power generation capacity added in the country during the 2010-11 fiscal is slated to be around 15,000 MW. The total power capacity in the country is set to be more than 1.75 lakh MW, by the end of this month.

“We have already added about 10,460 MW till now and hope to exceed 15,000 MW by the end of this fiscal year. This will be the highest capacity addition in any year,” said Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde, Power Minister, on Tuesday.

But the figure is still 5,000 MW less than target of 20,359 MW target of adding power generation capacity in 2010-11 and for the fourth consecutive year of the 11{+t}{+h} Five-Year Plan, the capacity addition targets would be missed.

Missing targets

Commenting on why capacity addition targets were being missed, Mr Shinde said, “I am little upset now. If I don't get coal and other fuel due to environmental restrictions, I will not be able to even meet out the revised capacity addition targets of 62,000 MW during the 11th Plan.”

The 11th Plan had aimed to achieve an additional generation capacity of 62,262.4 MW during the same period. According to Central Electricity Authority's data, only about 47.78 per cent of the target has been added by domestic power utilities in last four years at 32,512 MW (between April 2007 and January 2011).

This target was subsequently reduced in the mid-term review of the Plan and now India aims to achieve a total power capacity of over 62,000 MW (in five years) by March, 2012.

Coal output

Mr Shinde also added that coal production should increase by 2-4 per cent every year to meet the rising demands of the power sector.

Indian power companies have imported about 10-11 million tonnes of coal so far in the current fiscal, he said, adding that his ministry had fixed an import target of 35 million tonnes of coal during the period.

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