PUBLISHER’S LETTER

Hello and welcome once again to Electrical India.

India is slated to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The economy grew at 8.2% in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal on strong performance of manufacturing and agriculture sectors. It is expected to continue this growth momentum with the range of 8-10% in near future.

This strong economic growth will drive electricity demand in India thanks to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. The Government of India’s focus on attaining ‘Power for all’ is expected to further fuel the demand for power.

India has the fifth largest power generation capacity in the world and it ranks third globally in terms of electricity production. However, the country, once projected to be the power surplus, is reeling under power shortage. As many as 17 states are reeling under acute power shortage. A shortfall in coal supply has come to afflict scores of power plants in India.

Already under severe power shortage, Maharashtra is now facing another challenge. Coal scarcity is causing low production and loss of units. According to data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), as on 1st November, out of the total 15 thermal power plants in the state, 12 were running on coal stocks that would last less than 5 days. Of these, 11 are running on ‘supercritical’ coal stocks which is less than three days’ stock. This demands urgent intervention from the concerned ministries.

In addition, the financial health of Indian DISCOMs has been a cause of concern. According to the CEA report, “Management and financial inefficiency, especially in state power utilities, have adversely affected capacity addition and system improvement programme.” The government should ensure effective implementation of the reforms that were announced to improve financial health of the DISCOMs.

Electrical India is entering the 59th golden year of its publishing in January, 2019. To mark this milestone, we are coming up with the Annual Issue of the magazine in December. A voluminous issue of over 200 pages will cover almost all aspects of power and electrical industry featuring detail insights to keep our readers abreast of the latest industry trends. We would like to invite you to voice your opinions on this sector.

Do send me your comments at miyer@charypublications.in


Publisher & Editor-In-Chief

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