Facts :
- No country has achieved HDI of 0.9 or more without annual energy availability of at least 4 tonnes of oil equivalent per capita
- 3 world Oil points that is Strait of Hormuz ,Malacca and Bal-ed Mandab (If they are blocked, oil supply will be impacted and subsequently oil prices will shoot up)
- In India, 300 million people don’t have access to electricity
- The power deficit has reduced from 11% in 2008-09 to 2.9% in 2015-16 and for the first time, there will be a surplus in 2016-17
- On an average, in 2015-16, the per capita consumption in India was 1,070 kWh, less than the world average of 3,026 kWh. It is also the lowest among BRICS nations
- The country will have a surplus of 3.1% during peak hours and 1.1% during non-peak hours during 2016-17
Reasons behind surplus power:
- Highest ever conventional power capacity of 46,453 MW has been added during the last two years.
- About 11,000 MW of gas plants have been revived and coal shortages to power plants are removed.
- The government has launched revival scheme for distribution companies and many states have joined it
What’s the issue now?
India now generates more power than it needs and has surplus power. And yet, the practical experience of Indians is that scheduled and unscheduled power cuts are the norm in cities, and the situation in most rural areas is worse. India lags far behind other countries in per capita consumption of power.