Plan panel cuts power generation capacity target by 20%

The Planning Commission has reduced the power generation capacity addition target by over 20 per cent to 62,374 Mw for the 11th Plan (2007-12) in its mid-term review.

"It is anticipated that additional power generation capacity of 45,234 Mw can be commissioned during the remaining period of the 11th Plan. The revised mid-term appraisal (MTA) target for total capacity addition is therefore of 62,374 Mw," the Plan panel said in the MTA.

During XIth Plan, 19,207 Mw generation capacity was added till December 31, 2009. The government has set the capacity addition target of 78,577 Mw for the current Plan.

The MTA would be reviewed during the full Plan panel meet scheduled for Tuesday. The meeting would be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with key Cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, and members of the Commission.

Although the 78,577 Mw target would not be met, the 62,374 Mw expected to be commissioned by the end of this Plan period would be three times of what was actually added in the 10th Plan (2002-07), the panel observed in its MTA.

During the 10th Plan, 21,080 Mw was added against the target of 41,000 Mw.