Power blackout: Govt fails to deliver promise

NEW DELHI: The power ministry has failed to live up to its promise of an electrifying first 100 days of UPA-2 . Against the much tom-tomed target to bring on stream 5,653 MW generation capacity, the ministry has been able to switch on only 4,000 MW. In the absence of any outof-the-box initiative, other promises too remain caught in red tape or continue to languish in files while blackouts keep getting longer.

Indeed, it���s time for the ministry to do a reality check. Even this promised 5,653 MW are projects that have been going on for years ��� the ministry only turned the fact that these projects were scheduled to come on line in the first 100 days into a grand promise. But even here it has lagged, pointing out ������ poor project management has emerged as a major lacuna in our power plan������.

In fact, targets have been marked only by the failure to meet them. The effect of poor project management and constraints in capacity to manufacture equipment for power plants have made most of the power targets a farce.

Already, there���s talk of scaling down the capacity addition target for the 11th Plan. Power minister Sushilkumar Shinde admitted at a meeting with states on June 24 that the 78,000 MW capacity addition target was difficult to achieve. Only 15,000 MW out of the target has so far been added.

On the policy front too, there seems to be a vacuum as far as ideas are concerned. Additional coal-based ultra-mega power projects of 4,000 MW each in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Orissa are yet to be announced and NTPC is yet to tender for 11 super-critical units. No visible push has come to promote private sector participation in the transmission sector, as was promised . Neither has the promised road map been formulated to increase the inter-regional transmission capacity of the national power grid.

HITS

Thrust on Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana Progress on induction of super-critical tech Initial public offering and partial selloff of NHPC

MISSES

Promised number of power projects not switched on Additional ultra-mega projects not announced Still no policy for ramping up inter-regional transmission capacity