Energise India 2007: Will India sustain its double digit growth?
The India growth story has caught the fancy of investors across the world, but can the energy sector provide enough power to sustain this boom?
By TNN |
The India growth story has caught the fancy of investors across the world, but can the energy sector provide enough power to sustain this boom? Addressing such crucial issues at this juncture has become almost imperative, given that the country is still dependent on large-scale imports to meet its energy requirements. ET is organising Energise India 2007 — a one-day summit — in the Capital on October 5 to deliberate on some of the crucial issues that need to be addressed if India were to sustain its double-digit growth in the years to come.
The summit comes at a time when 30% of the country’s energy needs are met through imports and global oil and gas prices are hitting all-time highs. With the increase in share of hydrocarbons in the energy supply, this share of imported energy is expected to increase. The challenge, therefore, is to secure adequate energy supplies at the least possible cost.
The summit is scheduled to be inaugurated by Planning Commission deputy-chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The one-day event will host speakers like Planning Commission member Kirit Parikh, minister of state for commerce and industry Ashwini Kumar, planning commission principal advisor (energy) Surya Sethi, minister of state for new and renewable energy Vilas Muttemwar, power secretary Anil Razdan, Bureau of Energy Efficiency director-general Ajay Mathur, HGIL executive V-P Subir Raha, Cairn CEO Rahul Dhir and Petronet LNG CEO P Dasgupta, among others.
According to the Integrated Energy Policy (IEP), for a sustained growth rate of 8% till 2031-32, India needs to increase its primary energy supply by three-four times, and its electricity generation capacity by five-six times as compared to 2003-04. By 2031-32, power generation capacity must increase to nearly 8,00,000 mw from the current capacity of around 160,000 mw, including captive plants. Petroleum, gas, coal, renewable energy are among the issues that need immediate attention.
The summit would have six sessions where the discussions would range from the role of the first estate in making policies to energy conservation techniques and the pricing issues. The plenary session, to be inaugurated by the Planning Commission deputy-chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, would focus on the energy policy in India in the light of the IEP paper floated by the Commission. The panellists would be discussing the issue of energy security and its relation to GDP, the challenge of achieving electricity for all, exploring new potentials of sectors like coal and the challenge of capacity addition.
A separate plenary session on energy pricing, which would include discussions on market dynamics and constrains, is expected to generate some heat, given the different market conditions under which each energy commodity operates. As highlighted in the integrated energy policy, while some energy segments like the hydrocarbon sector have moved ahead, with market-determined prices kicking in at least partially, some others like power still continue to be completely regulated.
In some segments, like auto fuel, the government has failed to implement even stated policies because of political compulsions. A free-wheeling debate on some of these burning issues could perhaps throw up some interesting solutions for some of the vexed issues.
The summit comes at a time when 30% of the country’s energy needs are met through imports and global oil and gas prices are hitting all-time highs. With the increase in share of hydrocarbons in the energy supply, this share of imported energy is expected to increase. The challenge, therefore, is to secure adequate energy supplies at the least possible cost.
The summit is scheduled to be inaugurated by Planning Commission deputy-chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The one-day event will host speakers like Planning Commission member Kirit Parikh, minister of state for commerce and industry Ashwini Kumar, planning commission principal advisor (energy) Surya Sethi, minister of state for new and renewable energy Vilas Muttemwar, power secretary Anil Razdan, Bureau of Energy Efficiency director-general Ajay Mathur, HGIL executive V-P Subir Raha, Cairn CEO Rahul Dhir and Petronet LNG CEO P Dasgupta, among others.
According to the Integrated Energy Policy (IEP), for a sustained growth rate of 8% till 2031-32, India needs to increase its primary energy supply by three-four times, and its electricity generation capacity by five-six times as compared to 2003-04. By 2031-32, power generation capacity must increase to nearly 8,00,000 mw from the current capacity of around 160,000 mw, including captive plants. Petroleum, gas, coal, renewable energy are among the issues that need immediate attention.
The summit would have six sessions where the discussions would range from the role of the first estate in making policies to energy conservation techniques and the pricing issues. The plenary session, to be inaugurated by the Planning Commission deputy-chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, would focus on the energy policy in India in the light of the IEP paper floated by the Commission. The panellists would be discussing the issue of energy security and its relation to GDP, the challenge of achieving electricity for all, exploring new potentials of sectors like coal and the challenge of capacity addition.
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The summit will include separate sessions on demand and supply scenarios in various energy segments — from power to petroleum and alternative fuels. A special plenary session, focussing on the government’s initiative towards energy conservation for which it had announced the energy conservation building codes recently, is also expected to generate an electrifying discussion. The panellists would discuss ways to adopt the codes in its city-wise implementation programme.A separate plenary session on energy pricing, which would include discussions on market dynamics and constrains, is expected to generate some heat, given the different market conditions under which each energy commodity operates. As highlighted in the integrated energy policy, while some energy segments like the hydrocarbon sector have moved ahead, with market-determined prices kicking in at least partially, some others like power still continue to be completely regulated.
In some segments, like auto fuel, the government has failed to implement even stated policies because of political compulsions. A free-wheeling debate on some of these burning issues could perhaps throw up some interesting solutions for some of the vexed issues.
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