Power Sector in The National Capital Region

Power is an important aspect of the physical infrastructure that requires planning in advance, development and management for improved quality of life, productivity and economic activities.

The status of power supply in the National Capital Region has not kept pace with the increasing population and the growth of economic activities such as industries, trade, commerce, offices etc. There is an overall shortage of power in the Northern Grid, from where the region draws its power and hence, power cuts have become a routine affair, disturbing daily life as well as affecting economic productivity. The situation is even worse in the rural areas where the quantity and quality of power supply is very poor. Although augmentation of generating capacities of power and improvement in transmission and distribution system is a gigantic task requiring substantial resources, yet it is essentially required to be taken up for the balanced and harmonized development of the region.

It was proposed in the Regional Plan-2001 for an uninterrupted supply of power in adequate quantity and quality and priority in making additional power available to NCR. As part of the Functional Plan in NCR, various strategies were suggested for adequate supply of power for various industrial, economic and business activities in the Priority Towns, which may be at least at par, if not better than Delhi Metropolis.

In the review of Regional Plan-2001, it was observed that one of the major constraints in the process of planned development and growth of economic activities in the National Capital Region was inadequate availability of electric power. The power supply deficit within the NCR States at the end of the 8th Plan (1996-1997) was 31.1% in NCT-Delhi, 50% in Haryana, 49.6% in Rajasthan and 37.7% in U.P.

POLICIES AND PROPOSALS

In order to improve the overall power situation in the National Capital Region for the perspective year 2021 for the harmonized and balanced development of the region, following strategies and policies have been proposed:

Future Demand and Augmentation of Power

There is need to plan for generating/obtaining additional power of 23,345 MW required for the region by the year 2021 and recommendations for the same are as follows:

• Allocation of power from the new Central sector/mega-projects should be made by the Ministry of Power.
• Ministry of Power should consider allocation of power from the 15% unallocated quota from the central sector projects.
• State Governments should allocate power to their Sub-region from their new state sector projects
• State Governments should ensure the allocated quota to their respective Sub-regions from the present allocation/generation of power.
• State Governments should enter Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the power generation companies in order to ensure requisite allocation of power to the Sub-region simultaneously and expeditiously.
• A dedicated power generation plant for the region should be provided in a phased manner in order to meet the gap if any, after obtaining power from the sources referred above.
• Efficient and clean technology based power plants should be encouraged/adopted to meet the growing power demand in order to reduce the levels of the greenhouse gases (GHG) levels.

Load Management

Modern techniques for Load Management must be adopted to flatten the load curve and reduce the peak demand in the system to a manageable proportion, vis-à-vis the availability in the grid, through a control room by starting ripple generators, so that breakdown of generation is minimized. This will save investment on additional generation of power for peak demand. Similarly, street lighting on national highways/state highways within NCR can have centrally controlled system through operation of ripple generator. Energy efficient housing should be promoted and the concept of 66 KV underground cable ring main system should be planned and executed in new townships to provide uninterrupted power supply.

It is also proposed that an Islanding Scheme for NCR as second level of Island after NDMC/Delhi will be prepared by CEA and the State power utilities concerned after revisiting the scheme which will be implemented by the concerned power utility companies for better load management.

Improvement in Transmission and Distribution

Transmission and distribution system in the region should be improved keeping in view the increased demand of power by properly designing the L.T. distribution system viz., service line and service mains by providing transformers with adequate capacities, electronic meters, LT/HT breakers conforming to IE rules & specifications and by promoting communications (automation) in power supply system.

State Governments will also carry out periodic audit for identification of technical and commercial losses which will help in improving the transmission and distribution system on a regular basis.

Sub-group within Northern Region Electricity Board

Sub-group within Northern Region Electricity Board should be created for NCR by the Ministry of Power to oversee the power supply and periodically discuss the power issues in NCR and make recommendations regarding quality and reliability of power supply in the region.

Sectoral Plans for Power

Concerned State Governments will prepare Sectoral Plans for power and incorporate/integrate them in their respective Sub-regional Plans in order to improve the quality of power supply.

Promotion for Non-Conventional Energy Resources

Emphasis should be given for promoting non-conventional energy resources such as solar energy plants on roof top etc. in big hotels, institutions, commercial buildings, group housing etc., to meet a part of the power demand.

Public-Private Partnership

Keeping in view the huge investment required, which amounts to approximately Rs. 93,380 crores for the power generation and Rs. 58,000 crores for transmission and distribution till 2021, there is need to promote public-private partnership. Commercial approach and simplified procedures for the release of new connections, upgradation of demand load etc. should be adopted by these companies.

Review of Policies and Strategies for Power

In view of the reforms at the national level and technological advancements that are taking place, the review of the Power Sector strategies and policies for NCR should be done at least every five years.

For more information on Power Sector in the NCR, please refer to documents below: