India to see major changes in power sector: PWC

NEW DELHI: India is all set to witness a landmark change in the power utilities sector in the next decade with generation of renewable energy becoming the next big thing due to rising energy security pressures, a latest report says.

"We see significant changes in the industry structure with unprecedented range of technological diversity in investment. The pressures of energy security, cost of energy, and climate change are driving this," PricewaterhouseCoopers India Power Utilities Leader Kameswara Rao said.

In the next 10 years power markets would get impacted from diverse range of generation technologies such as wind, solar, geothermal and a range of combustible renewable and waste generation.

The 2008 report titled "A World of Difference", is a survey of 118 senior executives in 37 countries and reveals a sector that is anticipating wide scale transformation in the decade ahead.

Utility company survey respondents expect nuclear and renewable generation to have the biggest impact on limiting greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) with nuclear having the edge.

There has been a large change in outlook in just 12 months in how utilities view the future of the power sector. In the 2007 survey, only 33 per cent considered making direct investment upstream and this year, 51 per cent power companies are eyeing upstream investments, PwC added.

Only 26 per cent and 14 per cent of survey respondents expect each of these developments to play a lead role in reducing GHGs, even by 2050.

While only a quarter of the respondents expect carbon capture from coal to make a big impact in the next 10 years, the view barely changes when respondents look ahead to 2050 with only 26 per cent believing it would have the biggest impact on GHGs even in the middle of the century.