Electricity sector in India
Data | |
---|---|
Electricity coverage | 81% (2013)[1] |
Installed capacity (31 Oct. 2016) | 307.28 GW |
Share of fossil energy | 69.2% |
Share of renewable energy | 28.9% |
GHG emissions from electricity generation (2014) | 2019.67 MtCO2[2] |
Average electricity use (2015-16) | 1,075 kWh per capita |
Distribution losses (2014-15) | 22.77%[a] |
Transmission losses (2014-15) | 22.77%[b] |
Residential consumption (% of total, 2014-15) | 23.53%[3] |
Industrial consumption (% of total, 2014-15) | 42.10%[3] |
Commercial consumption (% of total, 2014-15) | 8.77%[3] |
Services | |
Share of private sector in generation | 42% (October 2016)[4] |
Institutions | |
Responsibility for policy-setting | Ministry of Power |
Responsibility for renewable energy | Ministry of New and Renewable Energy |
Responsibility for the environment | Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change |
Electricity sector law | Electricity Act, 2003 |
Installed capacity by source in India as of 31 October 2016[4]
- Coal: 186,492.88 MW (60.7%)
- Large Scale Hydro: 43,112.43 MW (14.0%)
- Small Scale Hydro: 4,323.37 MW (1.4%)
- Wind Power: 28,082.95 MW (9.1%)
- Biomass: 4,882.33 MW (1.6%)
- Solar Power: 8,513.23 MW (2.8%)
- Gas: 25,057.13 MW (8.2%)
- Nuclear: 5,780 MW (1.9%)
- Diesel: 918.89 MW (0.3%)

Tehri Hydroelectric Power station's lake in Uttarakhand. With a capacity of 2.4 GW, the largest in India.
During the fiscal year 2014-15, the per capita electricity generation in India was 1,010 kWh with total electricity consumption (utilities and non utilities) of 938.82 TWh or 746 kWh per capita electricity consumption.[3] Electric energy consumption in agriculture was recorded highest (18.45%) in 2014-15 among all countries.[3] The per capita electricity consumption is lower compared to many countries despite cheaper electricity tariff in India.[7]
By the end of calendar year 2015, despite poor hydro electricity generation, India has become power surplus country with huge power generation capacity idling for want of electricity demand.[8][9][10][11] The calendar year 2016 started with steep fall in the international price of energy commodities such as coal, diesel oil, naphtha, bunker fuel and LNG which are used in electricity generation in India.[12][13][14][15][16] Earlier many of the power stations which are using fuels other than coal are unable to operate due to high cost of LNG and petro products. This situation has changed due to glut in petroleum products globally. The prices are falling to such an extent that these fuels have become cheaper to give competition for pit head coal based power generators. Many of the stranded gas and liquid fuel based power stations would be competing with indigenous coal based power stations in an electricity market where demand growth is not encouraging.[17] All the segments of the electricity sector such as fuel suppliers, fuel transporters (railways, harbours, pipelines, etc.), Electricity generators, electricity transmission companies and distribution companies would be facing severe competition to cut down the prices and improve their operating efficiency in a final consumer dictated market.[18] If the power distribution companies, keep on charging exorbitant tariffs to bulk consumers, they would be opting for solar/wind power plants or take over an existing power plant to meet their captive consumption. Due to tepid growth in electricity consumption, coal stocks are continuously building up at power stations as well as coal mines.[19][20]
In order to address the lack of adequate electricity availability to all the people in the country by March 2019, GoI has launched a scheme called "Power for All".[21] This scheme will ensure continuous and uninterrupted electricity supply to all households, industries and commercial establishments by creating and improving necessary infrastructure. Its a joint collaboration of GoI with states to share funding and create overall economic growth.[22][23]
Contents
[hide]- 1 History
- 2 Installed capacity
- 3 Demand
- 4 Electricity consumption
- 5 Electricity generation
- 6 Thermal power
- 7 Renewable energy
- 8 Nuclear power
- 9 Electricity transmission and distribution
- 10 Regulation and administration
- 11 Problems with India's power sector
- 12 Foreign electricity trade
- 13 Electricity as substitute to imported LPG and kerosene
- 14 Electric vehicles
- 15 Energy reserves
- 16 Notes
- 17 See also
- 18 References
- 19 External links
History[edit]
The first demonstration of an electric light in Calcutta (now Kolkata) was conducted on 24 July 1879 by P.W. Fleury & Co. On 7 January 1897, Kilburn & Co secured the Calcutta electric lighting licence as agents of the Indian Electric Co, which was registered in London on 15 January 1897. A month later, the company was renamed the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation. The control of the company was transferred from London to Calcutta only in 1970. Enthused by the success of electricity in Calcutta, power was thereafter introduced in Bombay (now Mumbai).[24] Mumbai saw electric lighting demonstration for the first time in 1882 at Crawford Market and the Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company (BEST) set up a generating station in 1905 to provide electricity for the tramway.[25]The first hydroelectric installation in India was installed near a tea estate at Sidrapong for the Darjeeling Municipality in 1897.[26] The first electric street light in Asia was lit on 5 August 1905 in Bangalore.[27] The first electric train in the country ran on the Harbour Line between Bombay's Victoria Terminus and Kurla on 3 February 1925.[28] On 18 August 2015, Cochin International Airport became the world's first fully solar powered airport with the inauguration of a dedicated solar plant.[29][30]
India began utilizing grid management on a regional basis in the 1960s. Individual State grids were interconnected to form 5 regional grids covering mainland India. The grids were the Northern, Eastern, Western, North Eastern and Southern Grids. These regional links were established to enable transmission of surplus electricity between States in each region. In the 1990s, the Indian government began planning for a national grid. Regional grids were initially interconnected by asynchronous HVDC back-to-back links facilitating limited exchange of regulated power. The links were subsequently upgraded to high capacity synchronous links.[31]
The first interconnection of regional grids was established in October 1991 when the North Eastern and Eastern grids were interconnected. The Western Grid was interconnected with the aforementioned grids in March 2003. The Northern grid was also interconnected in August 2006, forming a Central Grid synchronously connected operating at one frequency.[31] The sole remaining regional grid, the Southern Grid, was synchronously interconnected to the Central Grid on 31 December 2013 with the commissioning of the 765 kV Raichur-Solapur transmission line, thereby establishing the National Grid.[32][31]
Installed capacity[edit]
The total installed power generation capacity is sum of utility capacity, captive power capacity and other non-utilitiesUtility power[edit]
Installed Capacity as on | Thermal (MW) | Nuclear (MW) | Renewable (MW) | Total (MW) | % Growth (on yearly basis) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coal | Gas | Diesel | Sub-Total Thermal | Hydro | Other Renewable | Sub-Total Renewable | ||||
31-Dec-1947 | 756 | - | 98 | 854 | - | 508 | - | 508 | 1,362 | - |
31-Dec-1950 | 1,004 | - | 149 | 1,153 | - | 560 | - | 560 | 1,713 | 8.59% |
31-Mar-1956 | 1,597 | - | 228 | 1,825 | - | 1,061 | - | 1,061 | 2,886 | 13.04% |
31-Mar-1961 | 2,436 | - | 300 | 2,736 | - | 1,917 | - | 1,917 | 4,653 | 12.25% |
31-Mar-1966 | 4,417 | 137 | 352 | 4,903 | - | 4,124 | - | 4,124 | 9,027 | 18.80% |
31-Mar-1974 | 8,652 | 165 | 241 | 9,058 | 640 | 6,966 | - | 6,966 | 16,664 | 10.58% |
31-Mar-1979 | 14,875 | 168 | 164 | 15,207 | 640 | 10,833 | - | 10,833 | 26,680 | 12.02% |
31-Mar-1985 | 26,311 | 542 | 177 | 27,030 | 1,095 | 14,460 | - | 14,460 | 42,585 | 9.94% |
31-Mar-1990 | 41,236 | 2,343 | 165 | 43,764 | 1,565 | 18,307 | - | 18,307 | 63,636 | 9.89% |
31-Mar-1997 | 54,154 | 6,562 | 294 | 61,010 | 2,225 | 21,658 | 902 | 22,560 | 85,795 | 4.94% |
31-Mar-2002 | 62,131 | 11,163 | 1,135 | 74,429 | 2,720 | 26,269 | 1,628 | 27,897 | 105,046 | 4.49% |
31-Mar-2007 | 71,121 | 13,692 | 1,202 | 86,015 | 3,900 | 34,654 | 7,760 | 42,414 | 132,329 | 5.19% |
31-Mar-2012 | 112,022 | 18,381 | 1,200 | 131,603 | 4,780 | 38,990 | 24,503 | 63,493 | 199,877 | 9.00% |
31 Mar 2015 | 169,118 | 23,062 | 1,200 | 188,898 | 5,780 | 41,267 | 35,777 | 77,044 | 271,722 | 11.98% |
31 Mar 2016 | 185,172 | 24,508 | 993 | 210,675 | 5,780 | 42,783 | 42,727 | 85,510 | 301,965 | 11.13% |
Captive power[edit]
The installed captive power generation capacity (above 1 MW capacity) in the industries is 47,082 MW as on 31 March 2015.[3] Another 75,000 MW capacity diesel power generation sets (excluding sets of size above 1 MW and below 100 kVA) are also installed in the country.[34][35] In addition, there are innumerable DG sets of capacity less than 100 kVA to cater to emergency power needs during the power outages in all sectors such as industrial, commercial, domestic and agriculture.[36]Source | Captive Power Capacity (MW) | Share | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Coal | 27,588 | 58.60% | ||
Hydroelectricity | 83 | 0.17% | ||
Renewable energy source | Included in 'Oil' | |||
Natural Gas | 5,215 | 11.08% | ||
Oil | 14,196 | 30.17% | ||
Total | 47,082 | 100.00% |
Sector | Thermal (MW) | Nuclear (MW) | Renewable (MW) | Total (MW) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coal | Gas | Diesel | Sub-Total Thermal | Hydro | Other Renewable | Sub-Total Renewable | |||
Central | 51,390.00 | 7,490.83 | 0.00 | 58,880.83 | 5,780.00 | 11,651.43 | 0.00 | 11,651.43 | 76,312.26 |
State | 64,210.50 | 7,210.70 | 363.93 | 71,785.13 | 0.00 | 28,197.00 | 1,963.80 | 30,055.81 | 101,945.93 |
Private | 70,992.38 | 10,355.60 | 554.96 | 81,902.94 | 0.00 | 3,120.00 | 42,273.12 | 44,236.92 | 127,296.06 |
All India | 186,592.88 | 25,057.13 | 918.89 | 212,568.90 | 5,780.00 | 42,968.43 | 44,236.92 | 87,205.35 | 305,554.25 |
Percentage | 61.06 | 8.20 | 0.30 | 69.56 | 1.89 | 14.06 | 14.47 | 28.54 | 100 |
Installed capacity by state or territory[edit]
Demand[edit]
- Demand trends
Region | Energy | Peak Power | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Requirement (MU) | Availability (MU) | Surplus(+)/Deficit(-) | Demand (MW) | Supply (MW) | Surplus(+)/Deficit(-) | |
Northern | 357,459 | 351,009 | -1.8% | 55,800 | 54,900 | -1.6% |
Western | 379,087 | 405,370 | +6.9% | 51,436 | 56,715 | +10.3% |
Southern | 310,564 | 320,944 | +3.3% | 40,145 | 44,604 | +11.1% |
Eastern | 151,336 | 135,713 | -10.3 % | 21,387 | 22,440 | +4.9% |
North-Eastern | 16,197 | 14,858 | -8.3% | 2,801 | 2,695 | -3.8% |
All India | 1,214,642 | 1,227,895 | +1.1% | 164,377 | 169,403 | +2.6% |
- Demand drivers
Some 800 million Indians use traditional fuels – fuelwood, agricultural waste and biomass cakes – for cooking and general heating needs. These traditional fuels are burnt in cook stoves, known as chulah or chulha in some parts of India.[44] Traditional fuel is inefficient source of energy, its burning releases high levels of smoke, PM10 particulate matter, NOX, SOX, PAHs, polyaromatics, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and other air pollutants.[45][46][47] Some reports, including one by the World Health Organisation, claim 300,000 to 400,000 people in India die of indoor air pollution and carbon monoxide poisoning every year because of biomass burning and use of chullahs.[48] Traditional fuel burning in conventional cook stoves releases unnecessarily large amounts of pollutants, between 5 and 15 times higher than industrial combustion of coal, thereby affecting outdoor air quality, haze and smog, chronic health problems, damage to forests, ecosystems and global climate. Burning of biomass and firewood will not stop, these reports claim, unless electricity or clean burning fuel and combustion technologies become reliably available and widely adopted in rural and urban India. The growth of electricity sector in India may help find a sustainable alternative to traditional fuel burning.
In addition to air pollution problems, a 2007 study finds that discharge of untreated sewage is single most important cause for pollution of surface and ground water in India. There is a large gap between generation and treatment of domestic wastewater in India. The problem is not only that India lacks sufficient treatment capacity but also that the sewage treatment plants that exist do not operate and are not maintained. Majority of the government-owned sewage treatment plants remain closed most of the time in part because of the lack of reliable electricity supply to operate the plants. The wastewater generated in these areas normally percolates in the soil or evaporates. The uncollected wastes accumulate in the urban areas cause unhygienic conditions, release heavy metals and pollutants that leaches to surface and groundwater.[49][50] Almost all rivers, lakes and water bodies are severely polluted in India. Water pollution also adversely impacts river, wetland and ocean life. Reliable generation and supply of electricity is essential for addressing India's water pollution and associated environmental issues.
Other drivers for India's electricity sector are its rapidly growing economy, rising exports, improving infrastructure and increasing household incomes.
Fiscal year ending on | Consumption (GWh) | % of Total | Per-Capita Generation (in kWh) [clarification needed] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Domestic | Commercial | Industrial | Traction | Agriculture | Misc | |||
31-Dec-1947 | 4,182 | 10.11% | 4.26% | 70.78% | 6.62% | 2.99% | 5.24% | 16.3 |
31-Dec-1950 | 5,610 | 9.36% | 5.51% | 72.32% | 5.49% | 2.89% | 4.44% | 18.2 |
31-Mar-1956 | 10,150 | 9.20% | 5.38% | 74.03% | 3.99% | 3.11% | 4.29% | 30.9 |
31-Mar-1961 | 16,804 | 8.88% | 5.05% | 74.67% | 2.70% | 4.96% | 3.75% | 45.9 |
31-Mar-1966 | 30,455 | 7.73% | 5.42% | 74.19% | 3.47% | 6.21% | 2.97% | 73.9 |
31-Mar-1974 | 55,557 | 8.36% | 5.38% | 68.02% | 2.76% | 11.36% | 4.13% | 126.2 |
31-Mar-1979 | 84,005 | 9.02% | 5.15% | 64.81% | 2.60% | 14.32% | 4.10% | 171.6 |
31-Mar-1985 | 124,569 | 12.45% | 5.57% | 59.02% | 2.31% | 16.83% | 3.83% | 228.7 |
31-Mar-1990 | 195,098 | 15.16% | 4.89% | 51.45% | 2.09% | 22.58% | 3.83% | 329.2 |
31-Mar-1997 | 315,294 | 17.53% | 5.56% | 44.17% | 2.09% | 26.65% | 4.01% | 464.6 |
31-Mar-2002 | 374,670 | 21.27% | 6.44% | 42.57% | 2.16% | 21.80% | 5.75% | 671.9 |
31-Mar-2007 | 525,672 | 21.12% | 7.65% | 45.89% | 2.05% | 18.84% | 4.45% | 559.2 |
31-March-2012 | 785,194 | 22.00% | 8.00% | 45.00% | 2.00% | 18.00% | 5.00% | 883.6 |
31-March-2013 | 824,301 | 22.29% | 8.83% | 44.40% | 1.71% | 17.89% | 4.88% | 914.4 |
31-March-2014 | 881,562 | 22.95% | 8.80% | 43.17% | 1.75% | 18.19% | 5.14% | 957 |
31-March-2015 | 938,823 | 23.53% | 8.77% | 42.10% | 1.79% | 18.45% | 5.37% | 1010.0Provisional |
Rural electrification[edit]
As of 31 July 2016, 98.46% of 597,464 villages in India are electrified.[53] Of those who did have access to electricity in rural India, the supply was intermittent and unreliable.[23]Rural electrification rate | State/UT (Electrification rate, Unelectrified villages)[54] |
---|---|
100% | 20 states and 6 union territories |
99.00-99.99% | Himachal Pradesh (99.81%, 34), Uttar Pradesh (99.77%, 224), Uttarakhand (99.52%, 76), Rajasthan (99.26%, 332), Madhya Pradesh (99.51%, 258), Karnataka (99.86%, 39), West Bengal (99.96%, 14) |
95.00-98.99% | Jammu & Kashmir (98.31%, 107), Tripura (98.03%, 17), Bihar (97.46%, 993), Chattisgarh (96.55%, 675), Odisha (95.33%, 2210) |
90.00-94.99% | Jharkhand (93.98%, 1775), Assam (92.31%, 1950), Manipur (91.55%, 201), Mizoram (94.03%, 42), Nagaland (94.14%, 82) |
80.00-89.99% | Meghalaya (85.9%, 42), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (86.11%) |
Below 80% | Arunachal Pradesh (73.3%, 1404) |