BackThe collapse and after
The solution is to strengthen the transmission network and invest in 'smart grids' that are capable of obviating the problems of indiscipline
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Much of what the A.S. Bakshi committee found in its probe of the power grid collapse last month had been anticipated. As reported in Mint on Tuesday, the committee confirmed that overdrawing of power by states such as Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and under-drawing by others led to the grid tripping that left 600 million people without electricity .
At the technical level, the solution is simple. India’s electricity transmission infrastructure needs to be strengthened. As it stands now, the transmission planning framework is at least two decades old. Since then, not only has the Indian economy grown manifold, power consumption—and hence transmission needs—has surged. The system is in no position to withstand the shocks delivered to it.
The obvious solution is to strengthen the transmission network and investing in “smart grids" that are capable of obviating the problems of indiscipline. While the exact figure of the investment required in such futuristic systems can be debated, it is clear that the country’s power system—the state utilities and firms under the control of the Union government—are in no position to cough up the required sums. A Planning Commission panel headed by V.K. Shunglu (which issued a report in late last year) found the financial position of distribution utilities across the country to be precarious. In the five years until 2011, the accumulated losses of these utilities were ₹ 1.79 trillion. Clearly, it is not possible to expect any investment from their savings/surplus for revamping the transmission system.
There are, of course, other investment options. The government can invite domestic and foreign investors to put their money in the system. But as matters are now, this will be a non-starter: unless there are pricing and other distribution reforms, any such investment will not only be risky, but is likely to witness its complete erosion. And power reforms, frankly, are beyond the abilities of the present Union government.
So a limited, but possibly effective step will be to empower the state load dispatch centres that manage the system at the state level and shield their personnel from political pressures exerted by chief ministers and other reckless local politicians. This will be no more than a paper patch on a gaping hole. But in today’s India even that will be an achievement.
Investment or reforms: what does India’s power system need today? Tell us at views@livemint.com
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