Strategy and the Challenges to Achieve 24×7 Power Supply

Energy is one of the most important building blocks in human development and as such, acts as a key factor in determining the economic development of country. The development of the Power Sector is commensurate with the overall economic growth of the nation. In an effort to meet the demands of a developing nation, the Indian energy sector has witnessed a rapid growth. The demand for electricity in the country has been growing ((due to rural electrification, large-scale energization of pump sets, Increase in population, Addition of new home appliances) at a rapid rate and is expected to grow further in the years to come.

“24×7 power supply with quality and reliable power is a key factor for economy growth of country” & is the government's priority. Access to electricity on 24×7 basis for all its citizens means much more than merely an act of infrastructure development to any nation as this has direct co-relation with the socio economic profile of the community. Thus this issue has acquired significant dominance on the national as well as state agenda.

To meet the requirement; Power Sector has grown tremendously over the past two decades in the areas of generation, transmission and distribution sector. With a total installed generation capacity of 395 GW (as on 31-01-2022), the country has transformed from a power deficit -12.7% in FY 2009-10 to -1.2% in FY 2021-22).

Transmission network has been expanded to connect the whole country and inter regional transfer capacity of India's National Grid is over 1 lakh MW.

With the joint efforts of the Central and State governments, universal access has been achieved, with more than 90 per cent electrification of the villages and households. Apart from the growth of power sector; if the government wants to fulfil its promise of “24×7 power”, it must accelerate the process of installing electricity meters in all homes, replace defective meters, ensure unpaid bills are paid and stop electricity theft, reduce AT & C losses etc.

In this paper, various government scheme which are formulated for achieving the objective of 24×7 power supply to all have been discussed. Also discussed about various requirement for achieving 24×7 Power Supply.