India needs to deliberate upon the need of a PLI-like (Production Linked Incentive) scheme to develop the domestic supply chain in the transmission segment and improve renewable energy transmission capacity, power secretary Pankaj Agarwal said on Monday.
The secretary, while addressing the industry at a conclave on the Indian power sector scenario 2047, said that worldwide transmission is an issue and around 1,650 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity is waiting to be connected to the transmission capacity across the world.
“We need to think whether we need a PLI-like scheme or some other kind of scheme to develop the supply chain. We need to also think about how we can localize the supply chain for transmission. I would like all stakeholders to give their recommendations on this,” Agarwal said.
He noted that global supply chains are strained today because of the surge in demand for power. “1,650 GW of RE capacity worldwide is waiting to get connected and this essentially shows that there are constraints in development of transmission capacity,” he said.
Talking about the constraints in the power supply chain, the secretary said that there are two kinds of issues – Right of Way (ROW) and equipment. He highlighted that while the country is addressing the ROW issue by revising guidelines and engaging in discussions with states, the country still lacks sufficient capacities of transmission equipment.
“On the supply chains, yes, for certain equipment we have sufficient capacity but for certain equipment we have to augment our capacities. HVDC is one very very critical element,” he said. “For certain items, we need to further develop the capacity. Do we need some kind of a PLI scheme for some items? That is what I have requested (stakeholders) that please explore whether that can help or some other kind of driver can help.”
Another challenge that the transmission segment faces is the rising cost of transmission. The government has projected the cost of the inter-state transmission system to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.5% in the next five years.
Agarwal said that to optimize the cost of electricity supply to the industry and the customers, the country needs to optimize the cost of the entire value chain.
Apart from strengthening the transmission segment, the secretary noted that distribution companies, which are the source of the energy economy, need to be financially viable. He said that the country’s discoms have an accumulated loss of Rs 6.5 lakh crore and their debt is of the order of Rs 6.75 lakh crore.
The government anticipates India’s power demand to reach 708 GW by 2047. “To meet this, we need to increase our capacity by four times, i.e. 2,100 GW,” power minister Manohar Lal Khattar said. “This is not just about increasing capacity; it is about reimagining our entire energy landscape.”
The secretary highlighted that the country needs to invest in nuclear capacities to meet the future demand. The government is targeting 16,000 MW (16 GW) of total nuclear capacity by 2030-31. “But I think our aspiration has to be in the nexus of 50,000 MW going forward,” he said.
The country has set a target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and 600 GW by 2032.
The government, under the new National Electricity Plan (Transmission), targets 1,200 GW of solar and over 400 GW of wind power by 2047. A key focus is on hydro pump storage plants, with capacity expected to surge from the current 4.7 GW to 116 GW.
With a planned addition of 190,000 circuit kilometers of transmission lines and 1,270 GVA of transformation capacity over the next decade, the plan presents an investment opportunity of over Rs 9 lakh crore in the transmission sector.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
