Punjab top state in terms of electricity coverage: Assocham

Punjab has emerged as India's top state in terms of electricity coverage as about 97 per cent of households in the state have power facility, according to a study.
The northern state has also registered an improvement in terms of electricity coverage during 2001-2011, industry body Assocham said in a release today.
"Electricity coverage in Punjab registered an improvement of about five per cent--that is from 91.1 per cent in 2001 to 96.6 per cent in 2011," the study titled 'State-wise analysis of power sector: Consumption, demand & investment,' conducted by Assocham said.
While electricity coverage across India during the same period increased by about 11.5 per cent, that is from 55.8 per cent in 2001 to 67.3 per cent in 2011, it said.

However, Punjab had a meagre 1.2 per cent share in terms of new investments worth over Rs 31 lakh crore attracted by the power sector from various public and private sources across India during the course of financial year 2004-05 and 2012-13, the study said.
Private sector accounted for over 75 per cent share in the total amount of new investments worth about Rs 38,000 crore attracted by Punjab during 2004-05 and 2012-13.

About 76 per cent of investment projects in the power sector attracted by Punjab were under implementation as of FY 2012-13, while about 57 per cent projects were under implementation as of FY 2004-05.

Though, Punjab has a small share in investments attracted by the power sector, condition of power supply in the state has improved considerably over the years as power deficit in Punjab improved by about 3.5 per cent during the course of 2004-05 and 2012-13.
While on an average, power deficit in the country increased by about 1.4 per cent during the period mainly due to high growth in power demand as compared to that in power availability, the study said.
Considering that agriculture is the mainstay of Punjab's economy, the state is ranked third in terms of power consumption growth in agriculture sector thereby showcasing that Punjab is ahead in terms of agriculture infrastructure development, it further pointed out.