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Government Ensures Zero Load Shedding in Summer: Power Minister's Directive

Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh, has spearheaded a series of strategic meetings emphasizing the critical need for zero load shedding during the scorching summer months.

April 03, 2024. By Abha Rustagi

In preparation for the upcoming summer season, the Government is taking decisive steps to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply across the nation.

Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh, has spearheaded a series of strategic meetings emphasizing the critical need for zero load shedding during the scorching summer months.

During a recent meeting held in the Ministry during the third week of March, stakeholders were urged to engage in proactive planning to avert scenarios where one state grapples with power shortages while another boasts surplus energy.

Addressing concerns over partial outages in thermal power plants, a fresh meeting convened on April 2, 2024, chaired by the Union Minister, delved into the status of thermal power capacities experiencing partial shutdowns. Efforts to minimize these disruptions were discussed, with an emphasis on maximizing thermal capacity availability.

In another significant development, the Minister engaged with generation companies to review the status of 5.2 GW of non-operational thermal capacity. Plans are underway to reschedule planned maintenance of thermal power plants to coincide with the monsoon season, ensuring minimal disruption to power supply during peak demand.

Recognizing the urgency, the Minister vowed to expedite capacity additions across various energy sources including coal, hydro, nuclear, solar, and wind. Additionally, the Government is exploring avenues to harness surplus power from captive generating stations, offering it for sale in energy exchanges to meet escalating demands.

In a bid to maintain grid stability, all thermal generating stations are mandated to offer their surplus power in power exchanges, as per recently notified rules. Moreover, the Minister directed uniform technical minimum loading standards for all coal-based power generators, ensuring the safety and reliability of the grid.

To further bolster capacity, the Minister announced a review of gas-based power projects' operationalization during the summer season. The Ministry will explore issuing directives under Section 11 of The Electricity Act, 2003, to ensure the seamless functioning of gas-based power plants.

Considering the significance of imported coal-based power plants in meeting energy demands, directives under Section 11 have been extended until September 30, 2024.

Union Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal, along with senior officials from CEA, NTPC, Grid India, Gencos, PFC, and NVVN, participated in these crucial deliberations chaired by the Union Minister.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts higher-than-normal temperatures across the country for the upcoming summer season. Consequently, the electricity demand is expected to surge, reflecting the rising trend observed in recent months.

Notably, the peak energy demand witnessed a 12.7 percent increase from 2022-23 to 2023-24, with a corresponding growth in peak demand met. Despite this surge, energy shortfall decreased from 0.5 percent to 0.2 percent due to a 7.8 percent rise in energy availability.

The total electricity generated also saw a commendable growth of 7.1 percent in 2023-24, with coal-based electricity production increasing significantly by 10.0 percent, driven largely by a remarkable 104.0 percent growth in energy from imported-coal-based power plants.

Tags:

Policies & Regulations

Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy

Ministry of Power

RK Singh

Electricity demand

Electricity generation

Thermal power

Solar energy

Wind Energy

Electricity Act of 2003

Indian Meteorological Department