HEADLINES:  

The Indian power industry will add nearly 45,000 megawatt (MW) to its total installed capacity by 2013-14 to the existing production, according to a research report. India's installed power generation capacity was 199.9 GW at the end of March 2012.

About 82 GW worth of generation capacity is set to be added during FY11-FY15. The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) includes additional 30,000 MW of hydro-electric power generation. India currently has 4.4 gigawatt (GW) of net electricity generation capacity using nuclear fuels across 20 reactors and aims to increase it up to 20 GW by 2020.

This can be achieved thanks to India's huge thorium reserves. Wind energy is the largest renewable energy source in India. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission aims to generate 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022. India also has large reserves of coal. India's proven natural gas reserves measure about 1,074 billion cubic meters.


The growth in power generation in India during April to December, 2012 was 4.55 per cent, as compared to about 9.33 per cent during April to December, 2011. In the thermal category, the growth in power generation from coal, lignite, and gas-based stations was of the order of 13.90 per cent, 19.81 per cent, and (-) 25.49 per cent respectively.

The overall plant load factor (PLF), a measure of efficiency of thermal power stations, during April to December 2012 declined to 69.63 per cent as compared to the PLF of 71.94 per cent achieved during April to December 2011.

  INDIAN power Industry AT A Glance IN 2011 - 2012

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