March 21, 2002
‘28’
GOVERNMENT CONFIDENT OF ADDING AT LEAST 30,000 MW OF POWER CAPACITY IN 10TH PLAN : SURESH PRABHU
STATES NEED TO GIVE FULL COOPERATION FOR HEALTHY POWER SECTOR
The Minister of Power, Shri Suresh Prabhu has said that the Government is confident that at least 30,000 MW of power will be added to the generation capacity of the country during the 10th Five Year Plan. Shri Prabhu was speaking while inaugurating the three-day International Conference and Business Meet on Fossil Fuel Power Generation, here today. The Power Minister in his address said, creation of additional capacity is one of the components of the total overhaul of the power sector which his Ministry has undertaken. The overhaul aims to make the sector commercially viable. Shri Prabhu said the Centre has put into place almost all the necessary measures needed for this overhaul and it is now for the States to cooperate and move forward and participate to make this effort a success. The Minister added that almost all the State Governments have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Centre to carry out reforms. Efforts will be to convert these MOUs into Memorandum of Agreement.
Shri Prabhu emphasised the need for research and development to reduce the cost of projects which would ultimately be reflected in the availability of cheaper power to consumers. The greatest challenge, the Minister said is the need to benchmark projects according to international standards. The Minister also said that efforts could be made to develop joint ventures between the Centre and States and between the Centre and other countries in capacity addition.
In her keynote address, the Minister of State for Power, Smt. Jayawanti Mehta said two important issues need to be addressed while talking about fossil fuel based power generation. The first is the cost of power on a long-term basis and the second is the environmental aspects. She said not only does high cost electricity become a burden for the common man, it also puts our industry at a disadvantage in the international market. There is, therefore, need to invest in more fuel-efficient technologies. The environmental aspects is important, Smt. Mehta said as Indian coal has a very high ash content and it is essential to minimise the hazardous impact of fly ash. Innovative solutions for utilizing fly ash need to come out, she said.
The International Conference is being organised by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) under the aegis of the Ministry of Power and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The event will focus on key areas like technology, potential and options in the area of fossil fuel power generation, cost effective ways for capacity addition based on fossil fuels. The U.K., USA, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa and Australia are partner countries while Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat are the partner States at the three-day event.