UDAY bridging demand-supply gap

Vinod Raphael,
Country Business Head, Omron Electronic & Mechanical Components business, India

Initiatives taking shape
Power sector has been garnering well-deserved attention from the government since its reign has begun. Many initiatives have been commenced and they have gradually started taking shape. Vinod Raphael, Country Business Head, Omron Electronic & Mechanical Components business, India acknowledges that consistent efforts being made to strengthen the usage and expanse of renewable energy. For example, respective policies and the 5-year-plans have started depicting renewable energy sector as the future of the power industry – especially solar energy – and there is a considerable jump in the resources being allocated towards the same.

As per the 11th Five-Year Plan, the renewable energy sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.06 per cent (a significant figure as compared to the conventional sources of energy). Hence, Raphael observes, “We can sense a shift which is very positive. The industry is very optimistic of seeing remarkable results in near future. Along with policies and technologies, government subsidies are also expected to expand thus complimenting the cause and the trend further.“

Another noteworthy initiative is UDAY scheme which is a stepping stone to achieve the dream of making the power available for all 24×7 at affordable price by reducing losses. According to Raphael, “The initiative has been making steady progress towards bridging the gap between demand and supply by contributing towards various aspects ranging from the asset management of the power plants to measures to increase demand to bring in more capital assessment, etc.”
The rural electrification drive – Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDGJY) –also deserves a mention here that has helped in bringing down the number of non-electrified villages significantly.

There has been a stream of continuous initiatives. All have started delivering slowly and steadily. “The coming years shall hopefully see more tangible results and progress,” Raphael says.

Optimistic renewable
Singling out initiative that will change the game in 2017, Raphael says, “There are many initiatives at work now and so it won’t be fair to pick one. However, I am very positive about the way renewable energy sector has been promoted amongst all key stakeholders. It shall surely play a great role in bridging the gap between demand and supply.”

Health of the industry improving
Raphael acknowledges that there have been some changes at the administrative level which are paving way for improving the health of the industry. Citing an example, he said, “The coal auctions; the whole process of power auction has become more systematic and transparent. Also, the complete route of distribution of electricity from the point of generation to the end consumer has shown improvements and is now getting more efficient. These are small yet important changes which have a great impact on the health of the industry – both in the short and long run.”