Lok Sabha Question No. 3365 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-20
Subject: Shortage of Electricity
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Smt. Manju Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3365 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2025

## SHORTAGE OF ELECTRICITY

†3365. SMT. MANJU SHARMA:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is acute shortage of electricity in the country;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  restore  normal demand and supply of electricity; and
- (c) the strategy adopted by the Government to eliminate the gap between the unit cost of electricity supply and price/revenue realisation?

## A N S W E R

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) & (b) :  There is adequate availability of power in the country. Present installed generation capacity of the country is 470 GW.  Government of India has addressed the critical issue of power deficiency by adding 238 GW of generation capacity since April, 2014 transforming the country from power deficit to power sufficient. Further, addition of 2,01,088 circuit kilometer (ckm)  of  Transmission  lines,  7,78,017  MVA  of  Transformation  capacity  and  82,790  MW  of Inter-Regional capacity has been done since 2014 with capability of transferring 1,18,740 MW from one corner of the country to another.

The details of All India Power Supply Position of the country during the last three years and current year 2024-25(upto February 2025) are given at Annexure. This indicates that the gap between Energy Requirement and Energy Supplied has declined to marginal level of 0.1% only  during  current  year  2024-25  (upto  February,  2025).  Even  this  marginal  gap  between Energy Requirement and Energy Supplied is generally on account of constraints in the State transmission/distribution network.

Further,  Government  of  India  has  taken  the  following  steps  to  ensure  adequate availability of power in the country:

- (i) In  order  to  augment  the  power  generation  capacity,  the  Government  of  India  has initiated following capacity addition programme:
- (A) Government  of  India  has  proposed  in  November  2023  for  setting  up  of  an additional minimum 80,000 MW coal based capacity by 2031-32. Against this target, coal based capacity of 9,350 MW has already been commissioned in 2023-24 & 202425. 29,900 MW Thermal Capacity is under construction and contracts for 22,640 MW thermal capacity have been awarded in FY 2024-25. Further, 33,580 MW of coal and lignite  based  candidate  capacity  has  been  identified  which  is  at  various  stages  of planning in the country.

(B) 13,997.5  MW  of  Hydro  Electric  Projects  are  under  construction.  Further, 24,225.5  MW  of  Hydro  Electric  Projects  are  under  various  stage  of  planning  and targeted to be completed by 2031-32.

- (C) 7,300  MW  of  Nuclear  Capacity  is  under  construction  and  targeted  to  be completed  by  2029-30.    7,000  MW  of  Nuclear  Capacity  is  under  various  stages  of planning and approval.
- (D) 1,53,920 MW Renewable Capacity including 84,310 MW of Solar, 28,280 MW of Wind  and  40,890  MW  Hybrid  power  is  under  construction  while  70,210  MW  of Renewable Capacity including 46,670 MW of Solar, 600 MW of Wind and  22,940 MW Hybrid Power is at various stages of planning and targeted to be completed by 202930.

(E)      In  energy  storage  systems,  13,050  MW/78,300  MWh  Pumped  Storage  Projects (PSPs) are under construction/concurred and 14,970 MW/54,803 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) are currently under various stages of construction/bidding.

- (ii) A robust national grid has been established to facilitate the transfer of power from power surplus regions to power deficit regions. Addition of 2,01,088 circuit kilometer (ckm) of Transmission lines, 7,78,017 MVA of Transformation capacity and 82,790 MW of  Inter-Regional  capacity  has  been  done  since  2014  with  capability  of  transferring 1,18,740 MW from one corner of the country to another. The capacity of National Grid is being expanded on a continuous basis commensurate with the growth in electricity generation and electricity demand.
- (iii) Directions  under  Section  11  of  Electricity  Act  have  been  issued  to  imported  coal based plants to operate and generate power to their full capacity.
- (iv) Steady supply of coal to all the thermal power plants is being ensured to prevent fuel shortages.
- (v) Gas-based  power  plants  of  NTPC  as  well  as  other  generators  are  being  scheduled during high power demand period.
- (vi) All the GENCOs including IPPs and Central generating stations have been advised to generate and maintain full availability on daily basis excluding the period of planned maintenance or forced outage.
- (vii) Hydro based generation is being scheduled in a manner so as to conserve water for meeting demand during peak period.
- (viii) Planned  maintenance  of  generating  units  is  being  minimized  during  period  of  high demand.
- (ix) New power generation capacity is being monitored closely for timely addition.
- (x) Government  has  facilitated  power  trading  through  regulatory  framework  whereby states with surplus generation can sell power to states which are in deficit through three (3) power exchanges viz. Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL) and Hindustan Power Exchange Ltd.
- (xi) Electricity market has been reformed by adding the Real Time Market (RTM), Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM), Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM), High Price Day Ahead Market (HPDAM) in Power exchange. Also, there is DEEP portal  for e-bidding and eReverse for procurement of short-Term power by DISCOMs. (c) :    In order to reduce the gap between unit cost of supply and unit rate of realization, the Government of India has taken number of measures / initiatives including the following: (i) Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) has been launched with the objective of improving  the  quality  and  reliability  of  power  through  a  financially  sustainable  and operationally efficient Distribution Sector. The release of funds under the scheme is linked to  States/  Distribution  Utilities  taking  necessary  measures  for  improving  their financial  performance including the improvements made in parameters of Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses and the Gap between Average Cost of Supply (ACoS) and Average Revenue Realised (ARR). (ii) Timely issuance of tariff and true up orders through regular follow up. (iii) Timely payment of GENCO dues have been ensured through Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) Rules. (iv) Additional Prudential Norms have been mandated for providing loans to State Power utilities. (v) Scheme  for  allowing  Additional  borrowing  space  of  0.5%  of  Gross  State  Domestic Product (GSDP)  linked to reforms adopted and performance achieved against various parameters. (vi) Rules  and  Standard  Operating  Procedure  have  been  framed  for  timely  payment  of subsidies declared by the State Governments. (vii) Rules have also been framed for implementation of Fuel and Power Purchase Cost Adjustment (FPPCA) and cost reflective tariff so as to ensure that all prudent cost for supply of electricity are passed through. With the collective efforts of Centre and State/UTs, the Gap between Average Cost of

Supply (ACS) and Average Revenue Realized (ARR) has been reduced from Rs. 0.71/kWh to Rs.0.19/kWh in the period FY 21 to FY 24

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ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3365 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 20.03.2025 ************* The  details  of  All  India  power  supply  position  during  the  last  three  years  and current year (upto February 2025):

| Year            | ENERGY             | ENERGY          | ENERGY              | ENERGY              |
|-----------------|--------------------|-----------------|---------------------|---------------------|
|                 | Energy Requirement | Energy Supplied | Energy Not Supplied | Energy Not Supplied |
|                 | (MU)               | (MU)            | (MU)                | %                   |
| 2021-22         | 1,379,812          | 1,374,024       | 5,787               | 0.4                 |
| 2022-23         | 1,513,497          | 1,505,914       | 7,583               | 0.5                 |
| 2023-24         | 1,626,132          | 1,622,020       | 4,112               | 0.3                 |
| 2024-25* (upto  | 1,547,785          | 1,546,229       | 1,555               | 0.1                 |
| February, 2025) |                    |                 |                     |                     |

*Data for February, 2025, is Provisional.

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