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EVERY summer power shortage in the distribution lines of the Power Development Board (PDB) and other affiliated bodies responsible for supplying electricity to the consumers reaches crisis proportions. This summer, too, will be no exception. But what happened in the evening of last Friday is a portent of something worse the citizens will be witnessing in the future. The country experienced a total power shortage of some 500 megawatts (MW) on that particular day.
The existing power generation capacity of all the production units of the country together is something around 3000 megawatt (MW), whereas the total demand at peak hours is 3500 MW. And the power distribution authorities usually manage this shortfall by way of calculated outages called load shedding. And evidently, such planned load shedding is done keeping in view the need of the domestic and commercial consumers so that during the peak hours the suffering of those at the receiving-end could be kept within tolerable limits. But such instances of power outages are, therefore, more or less predictable. Even so, such arrangements do not always work according to plan. Sometimes, problem occurs at the power generation units themselves throwing the whole country into a most unpredictable situation.
Managing the deficit is not the right answer to the perennial problem of power shortage in the country. That is more so, when one considers the fact that the demand for power is also increasing at the rate of 12 to 14 per cent every year and by 2007 the total demand for power will reach 6500 MW, according to an estimate of the power ministry. This is an escalation in the demand for power of over 70 per cent compared to the present generation capacity of 3800 MW by all the power plants of the country under the public sector.
Under the circumstances, the power ministry is without a shadow of doubt between a rock and a hard place. Moreover, there is no practicable solution towards meeting the huge gap between demand for, and supply of, power within such a short time depending on the resources available under the public sector. It is then time to invite the private sector to lend their support to solve the looming crisis in the power sector.
It is heartening to note that the power ministry has reportedly come up, at long last, with an arrangement to involve the private sector in the business of producing power by way of allowing different local companies as well as foreign ones in collaboration with their local counterparts to set up 15 small generation units with capacities ranging from 15 MW to 30 MW. While appreciating the move, one needs also to remind the authorities of the fate of similar attempts made earlier. Owing to bureaucratic tangles or the government's change of heart, the original plans had to be revised last year. But as the need for power is growing by leaps and bounds every year, the country cannot afford any more the luxury of delay over thinking and rethinking of the matter.
The power cell under the power ministry now looking after the project of involving private companies in installing small generation units must take all possible measures to expedite the process of bidding, leading to the establishment of a sufficient number of generation plants within the shortest possible time. But having said that, one has also return to the problem at hand, that is, to manage the crisis already staring the country in the face. The ensuing Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSC) will be going to compound the problem further, for it needs to be ensured that the examinees get a smooth supply of power during the examination.
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