Security for India

The issue of energy security in India is quite often considered synonymous with the issue of oil security for the country. While the geopolitical implications of growing demand for hydrocarbons and increasing dependence of the country on oil are important, energy security in India has to be viewed in the context of primary energy supplies, both commercial and non-commercial. It should not be limited to the concerns about availability of hydrocarbons alone.

Non-commercial energy in the forms of bio-mass, fuelwood and animal waste constitute about one-fourth of total primary energy demand (commercial and noncommercial forms taken together) and 60 per cent of Indian rural households depend on these forms for their cooking and heating requirements.

Some reserved figures for energy resources other than hydrocarbons bring out very clearly the current sub-optimum utilisation of the same. A target of 10,000 MW nuclear power was planned a long time back, while the current capacity is less than 3,000 MW.

As against the hydropower potential of nearly 1,50,000 MW as assessed by the Central Electricity Authority, the current capacity similarly is only around 30;000 MW. If we look at the potentialities of non-commercial renewable energy, we have exploited only a quarter of our potential for Bio-Gas plants and efficient wood- stoves. Similar is the situation regarding power generation capacity based on Bio-Mass, Solar Power, Wind Energy, and Small Hydro Potential.

The damage that has been caused by irrational energy pricing is there for everybody to see. In the power sector, the combined losses of state Electricity Boards is still around Rs 30,000 crore.

The next issue is technology. Several renewable technologies have become commercially viable. It has been contended that renewables can playa major role in rural electrification and around 80,000 villages that are not electrified now can make use of these opportunities if we are able to harness the technology properly. The need for technological thrusts encompasses the entire gamut of renewable forms of energy like solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, solar hydro, bio-energy, ocean energy, etc.

Another important issue is energy conservation. A series of steps has been taken over the years in this area, particularly in respect of oil, but all that could have been possible has not been achieved.

Thus, to meet our energy security and climate change concerns, issues like rational energy pricing, energy efficiency and new technology thrusts are extremely important.