Question : Power Shortages

(a) whether approximately 40 per cent of the country still faces power shortages and/or has no access to electricity;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether it is true that surplus generating power capacity is available in our country and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government is aware that there are leakages across the transmission and distribution chain in the country; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and the measures taken by the Government to put an end to leakages to save energy?

THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR POWER AND
NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY

( SHRI R.K. SINGH )


(a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.326 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 09.08.2018 REGARDING POWER SHORTAGES.
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(a) to (c) : No, madam. As on 30.06.2018, the installed generation capacity is about 344 Giga Watt (GW) which is more than sufficient to meet the present peak power demand of the country which was around 170 GW during the current year 2018-19 (upto July, 2018). However, there are some states in the country where there is gap between peak demand and peak met. This gap is generally on account of factors, other than adequacy of power in the country such as sub-transmission & distribution network constraints and financial constraints.

Government of India also launched Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana –“Saubhagya” to achieve universal household electrification. As on 06.08.2018, there are 21.92 crore households in the country; of these 19.42 crore households (88.57%) have been electrified and all the remaining 2.50 crore households (11.42%) are targeted for electrification under the ongoing Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana –“Saubhagya” by 31stMarch, 2019.

(d) to (e) : Yes, madam. The leakage of electrical energy along with technical loss in Transmission and Distribution (which are inevitable in a system), inadequate Billing efficiency and non-recovery of billed amount (collection efficiency) are collectively termed as Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses.

As per data posted by UDAY States / UTs on UDAY portal for UDAY States/UTs AT&C loss was 18.75% as on 31-Mar-2018. 20 UDAY States/UTs reduced AT&C losses in FY2017-18 as compared to FY2016-17. The AT&C loss has reduced from 20.74% during 2015-16 to 18.75% during 2017-18.

Government is taking various measures to reduce the AT&C loss like installation of feeder meters, Distribution Transformers (DT) meters, Smart Meters for improved metering and auditing. Operational efficiency improvements like smart/prepaid metering, upgradation of transformers, meters etc., energy efficiency measures like efficient LED bulbs, use of Aerial Bunched Cables (ABC), agricultural pumps, fans & air-conditioners etc. will reduce the average AT&C loss.

Govt. of India launched Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) on 20.11.2015 for the financial and operational turnaround of State-owned Power Distribution Companies (DISCOMS). The scheme aims to reduce Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses to 15% by FY 2018-19.

Government of India is assisting states through schemes like Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) etc. for strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution networks which would also help in reduction of AT&C losses.

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