What is the solution to the power-cut problem in India?

Question

Who will take the responsibility of solving this problem (government is useless:can the private sector afford to solve it?).
Surely the manpower supply is no problem as lakhs of electrical engineers graduate each year but due to lack of jobs in the power sector,they switch over to IT thus wasting their qualification.The power sector is unneccasarily deemed to be a dying sector although the main problem lies here only,not in the booming IT sector.Your comments?

Who will take the responsibility of solving this problem (government is useless:can the private sector afford to solve it?).
Surely the manpower supply is no problem as lakhs of electrical and mechanical engineers graduate each year but due to lack of jobs in the power sector,they switch over to IT thus wasting their qualification.The power sector is unneccasarily deemed to be a dying sector although the main problem lies here only,not in the booming IT sector.Your comments?

Answer 1

Hi. The problem applies to just about all countries so here is my opinion. There will come a time pretty soon when humanity will realize the energy available is finite. We will have done some damage to the current (no pun) climate and that will change it according to the laws of physics and chemistry. The world's focus will be drawn to efficient use of available power, and IT will become an industry full of folks whose skills are no longer drawing the salary they now command. The economies will shift such that clever engineers will be in greater demand. Products now in use will need to re-designed, new technologies will develop and evolve. Even something as basic as a house will be changed to use only a tiny amount of the energy used (or wasted) now. Governments can help by mandating standards for recycling. (Do we really need small plastic bottles for water that get produced, used once, and thrown away?) Most of the funding will come from private sources, I think. The immediate payback of waste elimination will drive this.

Answer 2

I'm not sure how the Indian government is involved with the power industry, but in nearly all countries electric power is either completely controlled by the government or highly regulated by the government. So unfortunately, proper organization and planning falls on some branch of the government (which you say is useless).

From what I have read about India's power shortages, the problem appears to be that the infrastructure in place now requires a major upgrade to keep up with growing populations and a growing economy. I have also read about a strange decison to give farmers free electric power that resulted in large increase in electricity demand from the farm sector (no surprise there).

So despite the fumbling on the part of the policy makers, the private sector can alleviate the problems by doing three things.
1) Being careful not to waste any electricity and buying efficient products.
2) Participating in "distributed generation" where individuals and businesses produce their own power via on-site sources such as solar, wind or natural gas. This might not be an option in India, though. In the USA, electric companies are required by law to accomodate individuals if they produce their own electricity and pay them for any excess electricity they generate.
3) Writing to the gov't policy-makers or those in charge of electrical grid planning to voice your concerns.

Those three things can substantially help solve the power shortages that you are experiencing. BUT, they require a lot of people to help get involved.

As far as the power sector being deemed a dying sector, that is kind of unfortunate. Without a strong and consistent source of electric power, whole industries can fall behind schedule due to outages. Electric power is something we take for granted, but it forms the backbone of almost all modern industry and contributes to a high standard of living.

Answer 3

The problem seems to be related to the rampant theft of power in India. A big chunk of power produced in India is lost or unaccounted for when the revenue is generated. People don't realise that thieving power from a government agency will worsen the problems. Since many of the plants run massive losses, they don't have an option of expanding/upgrading the power output...the result is power rationing. If a private sector jumps into this business (although I think it is more of a business suicide) they will need proper authority to enforce rules against energy thieves..which sounds just as expensive
There seems to be no end nearby that can solve this power rationing problem in India.. and as china and India are developing at a fast pace, energy prices will go even higher....even more reason to thieve power

Answer 4

Power problem can never be solved in India with this sort of foresight sir.
First let people start using properly. power cannot be produced by electrical engineers.
Solutions: Suppose if we harvest rain water and store plenty of water in wells and tanks farmers do not need much power for lifting water for irrigation. power is saved to that extent. More tax can be levied to individuals or families who use more power just because they have money. It means power per family/home to be restricted. People to be made to sleep in the nights without wasting more power in cities like Mumbai and so on. each district to be made an independent unit to manage power of its own area.
And so on. More of Wind energy can also be thought of.

Answer 5

yaar
private sector can't solve this problem.
government ,private sector & at last but not least public's combined effect with proper managment & technology .
there is no lack of engineers.

Answer 6

Should generate more power supply. and the regular service to the Electrical Box and all those things.

Answer 7

use our resources well. we can build nuclear power stations based on fast breeder technology(under progress). use non convenctional energy in abetter way at low cost that is solar energy,wind energy,bio gas. just we can do is to do not weaste electricity

Answer 8

hey in the first place we have to improve financially !bcoz here in india ppl just look 4 their own benefit nobody thks abt the nation so we hav to chang tht thinking fst .

Answer 9

a prepaid recharge coupon with a system of no supply when your account balance is zero & KATIYA - proof power supply is the best solution for our country

Answer 10

1) privatisation
2)nuc plant
3)u knw abt china three gorjes plant like that on ganga(india) there can genrate power
4)reduce poulation
5)reduce power thief
6)like bombay ambani power plant& tata power