‘India’s Power sector has transformed in the last 2 years’: EESL MD Saurabh Kumar

The Indian power sector has been abuzz since the NDA government took over.

From announcing UDAY (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) to boosting domestic coal supply, ramping up the country’s ailing transmission networks offering subsidized gas to plants, several initiatives have been introduced.

EESL’s Managing Director Saurabh Kumar told Business Insider the current government’s efforts are ‘laudable’ in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Energy Infra Post launch.

“The power sector has transformed in the last 2 years, after the new government came in. Coal production has gone up, supply has improved, and attempts are being made to improve transmission lines. That’s laudable”, Kumar told reporters.

Domestic coal supply has improved and international coal prices have fallen over the last two years. Thermal power, which accounts for approx 70% of the country’s power generation, rose around 5% to 943 billion units in 2015-16. The country’s thermal power capacity has shot up more than 11% to 2,10,675 MW by March 2016.

According to the government’s targets, the country’s transmission lines network will be expanded to a further 3,64,900 cKm by March 2017. The addition of 2,49,400 MVA transformation capacity during 2012-16, has been the highest ever in the country’s history.

When asked about the country’s power challenges, Kumar said, “Wind power is under-utilized, renewable power should be more widely adopted and we’ll have to bring focus back to hydro-electric power. Coal and gas-based power plants must also be revived.”

The current government has been conducting auctions to revive stranded gas-based plants.

Image credit: Indiatimes