By IANS
New Delhi : Power majors will brainstorm on the looming energy crisis in India and ways to generate more electricity at “India Electricity 2007”, a three-day exhibition-cum-conference on the Indian power sector to be held at Pragati Maidan here from September 20, 2007.
The second in an annual series, the event is organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in collaboration with the power ministry. This conference assumes special significance in the light of the major shortfall reported in the power ministry’s 10th plan generation capacity addition targets.
The event is expected to bring together key stakeholders in the power sector including utilities, equipment suppliers, consumer groups as well as regulators, who will discuss legal and policy bottlenecks hampering growth of the domestic power sector.
About 500 power sector companies are expected to attend the conference, which is 40 percent higher than the attendance last year. More than 70 overseas companies, including global power equipment suppliers like Alstom and Areva, are expected to attend the event.
The power ministry has envisaged generation capacity addition of 80,463 MW under its 11th Plan programme. Of this, 66,463 MW of capacity addition will be based on conventional fuel like coal, gas and hydro, while the rest will come up in the non-conventional segment.
Ambitious plans have also been drawn up to strengthen transmission and distribution networks during the current plan period. Successful implementation of this programme will be crucial to bridging the power demand-supply gap in the country.
Recent years have seen a revival of investor interest in the Indian electricity sector following key policy initiatives to open up the sector for private competition. The success of the Ultra Mega Power Project scheme, a public-private partnership model, launched by the government to attract private investment, is an indicator of the improving investor perception about the domestic power sector.
The government’s proposal to encourage implementation of similar schemes for capacity-building in other key areas like merchant power projects and transmission and distribution network means more investment opportunities for private players.
The conference will provide domestic and international stakeholders an opportunity to engage in an open forum to discuss and deliberate over these investment opportunities.