National Power Board set up to improve power scenario

29 May 2007

Mumbai: The central government in coordination with the state governments will set up a National Power Project Management Board to monitor capacity addition and transmission projects being set up to meet the soaring demand for electricity in the country.

The decision was taken at the conclusion of the chief ministers'' conference on power sector.

Besides, a standing group of power ministers chaired by the union power minister will meet once in three months to review implementation of power projects.

"One of the foremost features of the conference was that all the states agreed that capacity addition has to be accelerated towards the target set by the conference," power secretary Anil Razdan said.

The conference also noted that an estimated generating capacity of about 20,000 MW in the country is being sub-optimally utilised in a period of critical power shortage.

Razdan said the conference expressed serious concern over the current level of aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses posing a grave threat to the viability of the power sector, which is currently losing about Rs47,000 crore annually.