Shinde confident of meeting capacity addition target

To achieve the power capacity addition target of 62,000 Mw in the 11th Five Year Plan period, the country needs to add 22,000 Mega Watt (Mw), or above 30 per cent of the target set, in just 10 months. However, Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde expressed confidence of meeting the target for the period, though only 40,000 Mw had been achieved till now.

“For the 11th Plan period, we have already achieved 40,000 Mw. With 10 months remaining and a number of projects lined up, the ministry is confident of achieving the 62,000 Mw target for this financial year. We have fixed a target of 100,000 Mw for capacity addition during the 12th Plan period. As of today, about 80,000 Mw of it is under construction. We are in talks for the remaining 20,000 Mw,” the minister said here on Wednesday.

According to reports, the availability of coal would be a cause of concern in the 12th Plan period as the country would be heavily dependent on coal-based power projects for capacity addition. “To deal with issues like coal shortage, we have set up a committee under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,” Shinde added.

For the 11th Plan period, the initial target was 78,000 Mw, which the Commission reduced to 62,000 Mw due to issues like lag on project implementation. However, the minister said since the country was able to add 15,000 Mw during the financial year 2010-11, 62,000 Mw appeared a realistic target and the the process of implementation of projects would be faster in the coming days.

Meanwhile, training guns on the Left Front government for the ailing power sector in West Bengal, Shinde said, “The power sector comes under the state government and West Bengal government is a huge failure in terms of managing it. Considering per capita per kilo watt hours, West Bengal produces only 442 units for 8 crore people and also less compared to other states. Incidentally, in Gujarat, it is 1,457 for 5 crore people.”