New power connections: Worries and elation
Monday, 25 April 2011
Shamsul Huq Zahid
The government decision to start providing new electricity connections to over 280,000 consumers has surely evoked both surprise and elation. Most people would be surprised by the decision because of the existing gross mismatch between the demand for, and supply of, power while those who have been waiting for months to get power connections would be happy with the government's announcement. For the moment, it is most important for the latter to get the power connections, no matter how frequent the power outages are. Sceptics would be scratching their heads while asking one very obvious question to themselves: How would the government manage to make available power to new consumers when the existing ones are having hard times because of frequent load-shedding? The power division secretary who broke to the media the new government decision last Thursday was not specific in his reply to a reporter's question as to why his division had decided to provide new connections when the existing consumers were being subjected to severe load-shedding because of substantial power deficit. In reply, he talked about power rationing through load management and repeated the same old story-power generation would increase within next couple of months. The power division secretary told newsmen that the power distribution companies had already provided more than 100,000 new connections since February last following the lifting of the embargo on new power connections. The remaining 180,000 consumers would be getting new connections from May 15 next. Then the secretary had to come up with answer to yet another obvious question: What will be the power requirement to feed the new subscribers? He informed that an additional 1000 megawatt (MW) of electricity would be required to meet their demand. The power deficit now hovers around 1200 to 1500 megawatt. It might go up in next four months when day temperature would soar further. So, how would the power division meet the higher load demand? The only possible way of meeting higher demand is the generation of more power. Otherwise, there will be an addition of a few lakhs to the number of millions of old suffering power subscribers. What is worrying is that the incidence of load shedding would be more frequent because of additional demand for power. However, the power division secretary gave assurances that at least 2000 MW additional power would be added to the national grid in the next couple of months. Adviser to the Prime Minister on power and energy affairs was present when the assurance came from the power secretary. Should the power consumers put their faith in such assurances about new power generation? If the past experience is any guide to this effect, they should not. The energy adviser is on record of giving such assurances in the past. But in most cases those have not come true. Possibly, that is why he had decided to remain in the background this time. Thus, in the event of failure to generate additional power to meet the demand from the new subscribers, the existing power subscribers along with new ones would stand to suffer even more seriously. The load shedding which is now an hourly event might even go half-hourly. Claims are being made that the incumbent government has been successful in generating nearly 1100 MW of electricity since its coming to power in January 2009. A former top bureaucrat, however, has claimed that most part of the additional power has come from the plants approved by the immediate past political government. It does matter little to the people which government did set up the power plants since it is the job of any government to ensure uninterrupted utility services to the citizens. What is more important to them is the availability of power in sufficient volume to help them carry out their normal household activities and industrial and commercial operations. But here the government's performance has been well short of the people's expectation. The government demonstrated a flurry of activities to shore up power production during last two years. But until now the power subscribers have not witnessed any tangible change in the situation on the ground. The power load-shedding is as severe as before. Hundreds of industrial units, big and small, are power-starved. The realtors are stuck up with their newly-built apartments because of the non-availability of power and gas connections. The power division, on the one hand, failed to complete even a single large power project and it could not ensure operation of a large number of cost-intensive private sector rental power plants, approved during last two years, on the other. The division, apparently, is now convinced that a good number of rental power plants would start their operations within next couple of months. That is why it has decided to allow new power connections. Thus, availability of additional power is not going to help reduce the sufferings of the existing power subscribers in the coming months. Rather, if the additional power is not available for one reason or the other, the situation may even turn worse. Zahidmar10@gmail.com
The government decision to start providing new electricity connections to over 280,000 consumers has surely evoked both surprise and elation. Most people would be surprised by the decision because of the existing gross mismatch between the demand for, and supply of, power while those who have been waiting for months to get power connections would be happy with the government's announcement. For the moment, it is most important for the latter to get the power connections, no matter how frequent the power outages are. Sceptics would be scratching their heads while asking one very obvious question to themselves: How would the government manage to make available power to new consumers when the existing ones are having hard times because of frequent load-shedding? The power division secretary who broke to the media the new government decision last Thursday was not specific in his reply to a reporter's question as to why his division had decided to provide new connections when the existing consumers were being subjected to severe load-shedding because of substantial power deficit. In reply, he talked about power rationing through load management and repeated the same old story-power generation would increase within next couple of months. The power division secretary told newsmen that the power distribution companies had already provided more than 100,000 new connections since February last following the lifting of the embargo on new power connections. The remaining 180,000 consumers would be getting new connections from May 15 next. Then the secretary had to come up with answer to yet another obvious question: What will be the power requirement to feed the new subscribers? He informed that an additional 1000 megawatt (MW) of electricity would be required to meet their demand. The power deficit now hovers around 1200 to 1500 megawatt. It might go up in next four months when day temperature would soar further. So, how would the power division meet the higher load demand? The only possible way of meeting higher demand is the generation of more power. Otherwise, there will be an addition of a few lakhs to the number of millions of old suffering power subscribers. What is worrying is that the incidence of load shedding would be more frequent because of additional demand for power. However, the power division secretary gave assurances that at least 2000 MW additional power would be added to the national grid in the next couple of months. Adviser to the Prime Minister on power and energy affairs was present when the assurance came from the power secretary. Should the power consumers put their faith in such assurances about new power generation? If the past experience is any guide to this effect, they should not. The energy adviser is on record of giving such assurances in the past. But in most cases those have not come true. Possibly, that is why he had decided to remain in the background this time. Thus, in the event of failure to generate additional power to meet the demand from the new subscribers, the existing power subscribers along with new ones would stand to suffer even more seriously. The load shedding which is now an hourly event might even go half-hourly. Claims are being made that the incumbent government has been successful in generating nearly 1100 MW of electricity since its coming to power in January 2009. A former top bureaucrat, however, has claimed that most part of the additional power has come from the plants approved by the immediate past political government. It does matter little to the people which government did set up the power plants since it is the job of any government to ensure uninterrupted utility services to the citizens. What is more important to them is the availability of power in sufficient volume to help them carry out their normal household activities and industrial and commercial operations. But here the government's performance has been well short of the people's expectation. The government demonstrated a flurry of activities to shore up power production during last two years. But until now the power subscribers have not witnessed any tangible change in the situation on the ground. The power load-shedding is as severe as before. Hundreds of industrial units, big and small, are power-starved. The realtors are stuck up with their newly-built apartments because of the non-availability of power and gas connections. The power division, on the one hand, failed to complete even a single large power project and it could not ensure operation of a large number of cost-intensive private sector rental power plants, approved during last two years, on the other. The division, apparently, is now convinced that a good number of rental power plants would start their operations within next couple of months. That is why it has decided to allow new power connections. Thus, availability of additional power is not going to help reduce the sufferings of the existing power subscribers in the coming months. Rather, if the additional power is not available for one reason or the other, the situation may even turn worse. Zahidmar10@gmail.com