India's grid woes in two charts

by Idéfix Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:28 pm

Here is an interesting take on the problems facing India's power grid. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/06/indias-infrastructure-woes-in-two-graphs/

The first chart shows how out of line distribution losses in India really are. Losses of 5-10% are the norm in much of the world, while India experiences over 20%. Much of that difference is due to theft.

India's grid woes in two charts India-losses-power-sector

India's grid woes in two charts India-losses-power-sector

The second chart shows a correlation between distribution losses and state GDP growth rate.
India's grid woes in two charts India-grid-losses-growth

India's grid woes in two charts India-grid-losses-growth

The second chart shows three clusters in terms of losses: AP, TN and Kerala plus Punjab and HP all under 20%, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, West Bengal and Uttarakhand in a second band between 20-25%, and much of northindia as the true outliers. Over a third of the generated power is lost (much of it stolen) in Jharkhand, Bihar and MP.

by truthbetold Mon Aug 06, 2012 9:42 pm

Those numbers don't lie. Sad commentary on how common man participates in corruption.

by MulaiAzhagi Mon Aug 06, 2012 10:33 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYyjvIyHvO8&feature=player_embedded

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:45 am

panini press wrote:The first chart shows how out of line distribution losses in India really are. Losses of 5-10% are the norm in much of the world, while India experiences over 20%. Much of that difference is due to theft.

The official 23% figure tossed around as T&D loss is a fiction. In states where privatization of distribution was attempted, independent studies have found the losses to 40-50%. Theft is only part of the story. There's also the problem of underinvestment in T&D infrastructure, unmetered supply to irrigation pumps, poor load balancing etc.

by Idéfix Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:39 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
panini press wrote:The first chart shows how out of line distribution losses in India really are. Losses of 5-10% are the norm in much of the world, while India experiences over 20%. Much of that difference is due to theft.
The official 23% figure tossed around as T&D loss is a fiction. In states where privatization of distribution was attempted, independent studies have found the losses to 40-50%. Theft is only part of the story. There's also the problem of underinvestment in T&D infrastructure, unmetered supply to irrigation pumps, poor load balancing etc.

Interesting. I was trying to find out which states privatized distribution and which ones didn't. Do you have an idea / ready source?

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Aug 07, 2012 2:02 am

panini press wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
panini press wrote:The first chart shows how out of line distribution losses in India really are. Losses of 5-10% are the norm in much of the world, while India experiences over 20%. Much of that difference is due to theft.
The official 23% figure tossed around as T&D loss is a fiction. In states where privatization of distribution was attempted, independent studies have found the losses to 40-50%. Theft is only part of the story. There's also the problem of underinvestment in T&D infrastructure, unmetered supply to irrigation pumps, poor load balancing etc.
Interesting. I was trying to find out which states privatized distribution and which ones didn't. Do you have an idea / ready source?

According to this, only Delhi and Orissa have privatized distribution. The 50% figure I mentioned was from a TERI study of pre-privatized distribution in Delhi, I think.

by Idéfix Tue Aug 07, 2012 2:46 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
panini press wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
panini press wrote:The first chart shows how out of line distribution losses in India really are. Losses of 5-10% are the norm in much of the world, while India experiences over 20%. Much of that difference is due to theft.
The official 23% figure tossed around as T&D loss is a fiction. In states where privatization of distribution was attempted, independent studies have found the losses to 40-50%. Theft is only part of the story. There's also the problem of underinvestment in T&D infrastructure, unmetered supply to irrigation pumps, poor load balancing etc.
Interesting. I was trying to find out which states privatized distribution and which ones didn't. Do you have an idea / ready source?

According to this, only Delhi and Orissa have privatized distribution. The 50% figure I mentioned was from a TERI study of pre-privatized distribution in Delhi, I think.

Thanks, I found this interesting:

The major cities, where distribution has been privatized are Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Greater Noida (UP), Ahmedabad, Surat and Orissa. T&D losses in the cities managed by private companies are noticeably lower than the publicly managed utilities. The reported loss levels in these cities in 2008 are: CESC Kolkata 14.3per cent; AEC, Ahmedabad 11 per cent; NDPL, Delhi 18.5 per cent, CESC, Noida 8.0 percent (only distribution losses).

The fact that even private distributors are not able to bring losses down to overseas benchmarks is probably because of underinvestment and systemic roadblocks (like unmetered supply, etc.) as you said. But it is good to note that the private operators are indeed able to reduce these losses. It appears that one part of the solution has to be more privatization of distribution. Of course, in a system like India, one always has to worry about setting up a private monopoly that replaces a public monopoly.

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:53 am

panini press wrote:The fact that even private distributors are not able to bring losses down to overseas benchmarks is probably because of underinvestment and systemic roadblocks (like unmetered supply, etc.) as you said. But it is good to note that the private operators are indeed able to reduce these losses. It appears that one part of the solution has to be more privatization of distribution. Of course, in a system like India, one always has to worry about setting up a private monopoly that replaces a public monopoly.

Mumbai is serviced by two operators. Tata Power serves the island city while Reliance Power serves the suburbs. In the 3 years I've spent here, we suffered blackouts only a couple of times and the service levels are far superior to anything I've experienced elsewhere. Btw, Tata Power claims to have a T&D loss of just 1.8% in Mumbai.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:41 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Tata Power claims to have a T&D loss of just 1.8% in Mumbai.

i don't believe that. 6 to 8% is considered normal in developed countries.

by Sponsored content

India's grid woes in two charts

India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts

Re: India's grid woes in two charts