By IANS,
Mumbai : Power Minister Veerappa Moily Tuesday said that the country’s GDP growth would soon return to 9 percent as the power sector is set to deliver a good performance.
After meeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Prthviraj Chavan, Moily, however, said: “If you want 9 percent GDP growth, you ought to produce 8 percent of power. If you aspire 10 percent GDP growth, your power production should be at 9 percent.”
Moily said that during the 11th Five-Year Plan 54,000 MW of power was added and the target for the 12th Plan is 84,000 MW. He added that approximately 60 percent of the power produced is thermal.
Moily also pointed out that the CAG report will have no bearing on coal availability to meet the target, as coal linkages have already been made. “Any de-allocation will have bearing on future power production targets in the 13th Plan,” he said.
Moily also said that the central government has prepared a Debt Restructuring Plan for the State Electricity Distribution Companies, which have run up combined losses of approximately Rs.2,00,000 crore.
“It will not be a bailout package,” Moily said. “The restructuring will involve modifying the repayment schedule of debt owed by state electricity boards.”
Chavan assured Moily that Maharashtra could become “load shedding free” state by December 2012.