Indian power sector during the plan period: Strategy and gaps

This paper divides strategy of developing of Indian power sector into three distinct phases: General phase 1951–1969, Intensive phase 1969–1991, Reform phase 1992–2005. We observe that in the total energy mix, share of thermal power has expanded from 55.18 to 71.26 percent from (General phase, 1951–1969) to (Reform phase, 1992–2005). Further, we calculate the trends in the installed capacity built during these phases using simple econometric Semi-Log Model. Results show that during the General phase, total power generation capacity increased at 10.09 percent CAGR in spite of concentration on non- conventional energy generation sources, further, it rose only at 7.00 percent CAGR during the Intensive phase. The slippage in the power generation capacity occurred during the Intensive phase can be attributed to several impediments. However, during the Reform phase, installed capacity of electricity generation increased at 15.34 percent CAGR over the earlier phases. This is because of the implementation of economic and power sector reforms since1991 in India.