:
(a) whether the per capita consumption of electricity in the country is 600 kwh a year which is low;
(b) if so, whether the Government is contemplating to harness nuclear power for increasing power production; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
:
(a) whether the per capita consumption of electricity in the country is 600 kwh a year which is low;
(b) if so, whether the Government is contemplating to harness nuclear power for increasing power production; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE PRIME MINISTER`S OFFICE (SHRI PRITHVIRAJ CHAVAN)
(a) Yes Sir.
(b) All sources of power, including nuclear, need to be exploited to increase power production.
(c) Currently, 16 nuclear power reactors with a power generation capacity of 3900 MWe are in operation and seven reactors with a capacity of 3380 MWe are under construction. On completion of the reactors, the capacity will reach 7280 MWe progressively by March 2011. More units are also planned in the XI Plan and beyond to reach a capacity of 20,000 MWe by the year 2020. The recent initiatives of the Government on international cooperation in nuclear energy open the possibilities of a larger capacity addition by setting up of capacities, in addition to our indigenous programme based on imports.