How Narendra Modi Government Has Changed the Power Sector in India

There has been a lot of misinformation being circulated about the performance of the Narendra Modi Government.

All those who value what happens to India – its progress, its travails and the issues people face. And those who have grown seeing how every government paid nothing more than lip service – if even that – to the needs of the people. They know how important it is to get a set of people who go out to make a positive difference and a plan that is comprehensive.

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To undermine that group of people, purely on the basis of political hate, sans any facts, can be harmful and even suicidal for India. It is, therefore, the duty of all those who want good to counter the falsehoods by sharing what IS happening.

For someone who grew up in a country where electricity was always in deficit and load shedding for hours on end was a reality every summer and – over the years – throughout the year, it is indeed a surprise that India is now a power surplus country. The main issue now is NOT electricity generation or availability but its distribution. That takes time and will be resolved on the ground.

Meanwhile, has the government made things better? Yes, of course. On two fronts – Cost per kwh of electricity and Increase in alternative energy.

How has the electricity generation been impacted by the actions of the Government.  Well, the table below provides a very clear view of how much the generation of electricity has increased since 2013-14.  This is by each source of electricity.  When you look at the aggregate, in just 3 years – the increase has been an amazing 22%!

Lower Power Cost and Renewable Energy

India already has the

lowest cost of electricity generation in the world

.  That is what the sector has achieved under

Narendra Modi’s leadership

.  And a big factor for this has been the cost of solar power generation – which is being pushed in India in a big way.  This is for the future of India’s environment.  The days of using coal for electricity generation should be over – if environment is our concern.

For India to take leadership in this sector, this is the time.  When the Trump government in US is engaging in populism by repealing laws that help the environment.  Scott Pruitt, the EPA chief for Trump has taken steps to repeal the Clean Power Plan that Obama brought in place.  When US is going backwards, it is time for India to move forward.. faster.  And, that is precisely what the Modi Government has been doing.

Since 2011, things have changed tremendously!  India’s Solar electricity generation cost has gone down to 2.44 cents/KwH.

Solar power tariffs in India have plunged to a new low of Rs 2.44 per unit, continuing the free fall in the cost of green energy after Acme Solar Holdings and SBG Cleantech, the joint venture of SoftBank, Foxconn and Bharti Enterprises, won the latest auction for 500 megawatt of projects in Rajasthan.

This push to make the alternative electricity sources viable is not just confined to the Solar energy.  Now, even the Wind power is competing with Solar to bring the cost down.  Even Wind energy is now being generated at 2.64 cents/ kWh!

During an auction conducted last week by the state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for 1,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power installations, tariffs fell to a new low of Rs2.64 per unit, down 24% from even the previous low of Rs3.46. The prices are now competitive with the solar energy segment which hit a record-low of Rs2.44 per unit in May, also during auctions conducted by SECI. Renewable energy in India is now cheaper than coal-based power, which costs around Rs3.20 per unit.

This is a great achievement of the Narendra Modi Government for the future viability of the country and its progress.