Need to integrate the entire region by a robust power grid - Mr Venugopa

South Asia has witnessed a growing imbalance between energy demand and its supply from indigenous sources resulting in increased import dependence. Greater cooperation within South Asia is one of the most effective ways to deal with the rapidly growing regional energy deficit and to ensure energy security.

The Confederation of Indian Industry and USAID or SARI Energy organized a Round Table Conference on Promoting Investment Opportunities in the Power Sector in South Asia Leveraging Cross Border Power Trading at the Lalit New Delhi.

Mr KC Venugopal Hon’ble Minister of State for Power emphasized on the need to integrate the entire region by a robust power grid for exchange of power since no South Asian country will be able to meet its energy needs entirely from its own domestic resources. Encouraging large scale trading of power will bring in the requisite market mechanism to utilize the valuable resources of one country at the most optimal cost for another country in the region.

He cited the example of cross border trading between Bhutan and India with Bhutan supplying between 1,200MW to 1400 MW to India. The success of power trading between the two countries has encouraged them to take up more hydro projects through cooperative ventures and many Indian public sector companies are engaged in collaboration to add 10,000 MW capacities by 2020.

In addition emphasizing on the importance of the role of private sector he stated that in India private investment in generation addition has increased rapidly. Of the more than 58,000 MWs of power projects under construction, private developers are supporting about 32,339 MWs of new capacity. But there is an urgent need to further increase the role of private sector.

Finally he reiterated that energy sharing is the way forward for countries of South Asia. This will enable them to encash the latent energy potential which has not been fully tapped.

Mr Jayant Prasad Special Secretary Ministry of External Affairs also reiterated the importance of cross border trading. He said “South Asia energy trade is an idea whose time has clearly come. There is growing support in the contiguity for regional energy trade from central Asia to South Asia.”

He said “Cross border interconnectivity will promote supply reliability, peak load control and create opportunities for capturing economies of scale. Significant first steps for intra regional connectivity have been implemented already.”