NEW DELHI: It is the height of paradox for a country where blackouts are more a norm than exception. Over 3 billion units of electricity, or a day’s national consumption, were wasted in 2014-15 as congestion in the transmission highways blocked trading between surplus and deficit regions.
Data from various power exchanges show a higher wastage in 2013-14 at 5.3 billion units, or Delhi’s consumption for roughly 56-60 days.
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Inter-region transfer through short-term open access stood at 78.38 billion units during this period.
No doubt, such wastage – both in terms of actual power fed into the grid but not used and generation capacity that was not ‘scheduled’ due to grid bottlenecks – comes at a cost to the economy in terms of lost opportunities and idling power stations.
But even consumers, especially in deficit southern region, end up paying more as transmission gridlock not only affects volumes traded but also the price of electricity.
Power is traded on bourses through a mechanism called ‘market splitting’ in industry parlance. In this system, tariff on surplus and deficit regions are adjusted in a way that the power flow equals the network capacity available for trading. As a result, the price in surplus area declines and rises in deficit regions, which either go dark or have to look for costlier alternatives.
The southern region is one of the worst sufferers in this regard. Some industry estimates say network congestion cost the region at least Rs 5,000 crore in the last three years during which time 19 billion units could not flow to it due to congestion.
The opportunity cost alone of the unserved power is estimated at Rs 1,862 crore, assuming utilities earn Re 1 per unit additional revenue after meeting operating expenditure. Besides, in the absence of access to surplus power, cost of supplies were higher than what it would have been if there was no congestion. utilities had to buy tap costlier options or shed load. The price differential works out to Rs 2,996 crore. This came from consumers’ pockets.
Industry watchers say the problem lies in the way capacity of transmission highways are planned with singular focus on wheeling power under long-term supply agreements. This leaves only marginal capacity for trading, considered a major ingredient for real competition and ensuring the government’s promise of 24X7 supply.
Reserving some transmission capacity transmission networks, thus, is cited as need of the hour for growth of a healthy power market.
This is important since distribution utilities are unable to forecast demand accurately until very close to the delivery day due to factors such as seasonal variations, unscheduled generation outages, social events, political factors and business cycle etc.
This makes short-term and day-ahead market important. This is evident from the fact that while overall power market grew at 6% annually, the short-term market grew at 12.3% and day-ahead-market at power exchanges expanded by 43.5% in the last five years in spite of transmission constraints.
The country has an inter-regional power transfer capacity of about 46,450 mw and is expected to be raised to 72,250 mw by the end of 2016-17.
FAQs
Over 3 billion units of electricity, or a day's national consumption, were wasted in 2014-15 as congestion in the transmission highways blocked trading between surplus and deficit regions. NEW DELHI: It is the height of paradox for a country where blackouts are more a norm than exception.
How much power does India consume in a year? ›
Power Consumption
Electricity consumption increased by 9% in 2022 to 1320 TWh, after a 4% progression in 2021. It grew rapidly over 2010-2019 (7%/year) and fell by 6.7% in 2020.
Which is the largest source of electricity in India? ›
Thermal power is the "largest" source of power in India. There are different types of thermal power plants based on the fuel used to generate the steam such as coal, gas, and Diesel, natural gas. About 71% of electricity consumed in India is generated by thermal power plants.
How much electricity is wasted every year? ›
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that annual electricity transmission and distribution (T&D) losses averaged about 5% of the electricity transmitted and distributed in the United States in 2018 through 2022.
Which city got the first electricity in India? ›
The first demonstration of electric light in India was conducted in Kolkata (then Calcutta) in mid-1879 during British colonization of the sub-continent. A few decades later, the success of the demo was extended to Mumbai (then Bombay) to set up a generating station to power a tramway in 1905.
Where does India get most of its power from? ›
With a population of approximately 1.4 billion and the world's fastest major growing economy, India's energy demand is growing rapidly. Fossil fuels dominate India's power sector, but the country has ambitious goals to significantly increase the share of renewable and nuclear energy.
Is India self-sufficient in electricity? ›
Net energy import dependency was 40.9% in 2021-22. In 2020-21, the per-capita energy consumption is 0.6557 Mtoe excluding traditional biomass use and the energy intensity of the Indian economy is 0.2233 Mega Joules per INR (53.4 kcal/INR). India attained 63% overall energy self-sufficiency in 2017.
What is India's #1 energy source? ›
Nearly 80% of total electricity generated (utility and captive) in India is from coal and it is the main source of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. According to Greenpeace the largest coal belt in India is at Jharia. Before coal mining Jharia had forests inhabited by tribes.
Is India the largest producer of electricity in the world? ›
China is the world's largest electricity producing country, followed by the United States and India. Data are for the year 2022 and are sourced from Ember.
Which state produces top electricity in India? ›
This is measured in Megawatts (MW) which is equal to one million watts of electric power. As of 31 March 2024, the installed capacity is around 442 GW. Gujarat (52.9 GW) leads in power generation capacity, followed by Maharashtra (46.1 GW) and Rajasthan (40.1 GW).
China consumes by far the most electricity of any country in the world, with more than 8,000 terawatt-hours equivalent consumed in 2022.
How much electricity is wasted in India? ›
Reports suggest that up to 20-30% of electricity consumption in a typical Indian home may be going to waste.
Does wasting electricity cause global warming? ›
As we continue to waste electricity, we continue to emit more carbon and methane into our atmosphere. With fossil fuel gases trapped in our atmosphere, we end up with scorching summers and brutal winters.
Who owns electricity in India? ›
The government of India presently owns 51.34 % of the corporation, with the public owning the remaining 48.66 percent. Headquartered in Mumbai, TATA Power is the largest private-sector Power Company in India having an operational production potential of around 10,577MW.
Which City is known as electric City of India? ›
Electronics City, usually referred to as Electronic City, is an IT hub in Anekal taluk, Bangalore Urban districtin the Indian state of Karnataka, India.
Who found electricity first in India? ›
The first demonstration of electric light in Calcutta (now Kolkata) was conducted on 24 July 1879 by P.W. Fleury & Co.
Is India the largest in energy consumption in the world? ›
India was the third-largest energy consumer in the world after China and the United States in 2021 (according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022) and the second-most populous country, with 1.4 billion people.
How much electricity is used per year? ›
Electricity consumption in the United States was about 4 trillion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2022.
How much fuel is consumed in India per year? ›
Diesel had the highest values of around 88.2 billion liters in volume among fuels consumed in India for 2020, followed by gasoline or petrol with a consumption volume of about 37.2 billion liters for the same year.
What is the average electricity consumption per month in India? ›
How much kw required for home in India? In India, a typical home uses 260 kWh of electricity per month. Therefore, an average Indian home requires 2.4 kW of solar power or 6 solar panels with 330 watts each. Sanjana's answer also guides in detail about electricity consumption.
