Power shortage is probably the biggest constraint to our economic reforms and infrastructure development. It is estimated that power demand in India will exceed 2,00,000mw by 2010. In spite of an annual growth rate of 6-7 per cent in generation capacity, a shortfall of 8-10 per cent exists.

At present, heavy investment is being done in erecting new power plants. But new projects face several problems - every file moves at its own speed, political instability further reduces the file movement, and then environmentalists have their own say on the project. The fuel, like coal and oil, can only be procured from public-sector companies, and these firms do not guarantee continuous fuel supply. Even if the project is completed against all odds, the power will be purchased from the state electricity boards, and all the boards are reeling under financial crisis.

The main problem with the electricity sector is the poor efficiency of existing plants. It is the most neglected area, and without considering this, we are approving the new projects in a hurry. The efficiency of power plants is defined as the plant-load factor (PLF), which is the ratio of the installed capacity and actual production. So a higher PLF indicates greater efficiency of a power plant. In technologically advanced countries, 100 per cent PLF is achieved, but in India, 80 per cent can be achieved with slight effort. The power-generation data between April 1997 and January 1998 indicates that only Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan could achieve 80 per cent PLF, while 10 other states could achieve only 50 per cent. In Bihar, the PLF is 13.6 per cent, the lowest among the states. If Bihar could achieve a PLF of 80 per cent, it would generate 9,524 million units of electricity, against the present generation of 1,619 million units.

The main reasons behind the PLF are bad housekeeping in the plants, leakage of boiler tubes and the use of low calorific coal. Many boilers are very old, some of them are even older than the country's independence. Their maintenance is not regular. Boilers form an important component of any power plant, as they generate steam, which in turn, moves turbine. Recently, during a conference on power generation, it was stated that if we could check the leakages of boiler tubes, 5,000mw of additional electricity can be generated.

Use of low-quality coal adversely affects power generation and increases the amount of pollutants. It also increases the amount of flyash, whose safe disposal is the biggest challenge for power plants. Although flyash has many uses, but at present, there is no effective utilisation in the country and it is dumped on the land to pollute the groundwater and surface-water resources.

In our country, power transmission and distribution losses are around 22 per cent, owing to a combination of poor equipments, load management and theft. High voltage lines are increasingly supplementing the grid, but most transmission is still on 220 and 132kv lines. The World Bank's decision to postpone the loan approvals are a further setback in improving the powergrid.

Recently, the Powergrid Corporation of India's chairperson RP Singh said that only a third of the installed capacity of 85,000mw in India is connected to the powergrid network. Contrary to notions, the country generated surplus power, but because of inadequate transmission network, the situation remained grim in most parts, he added. The eastern region generated 2,000mw surplus electricity, which could not be utilised. Even in Bihar, there was a surplus generation of 50mw.

During 1996-97, the peak demand for electricity in the country was 63,853mw, while the production was only 52,376mw. The difference between demand and supply was 11,477mw. In other words, the demand was 18 per cent more than the supply. The gap between demand and supply was varying between the state. The minimum 5.6 per cent difference was in Rajasthan, while in Bihar, the difference was maximum at 48.4 per cent.