Tackling the Challenges in the Power Sector Employing Smart Energy Management: A pragmatic Approach

摘要

With distinct gap between supply and demand of power in India, there is a dire need to tackle the challenge. The surplus installed capacity needs to be backed up by a corresponding increase in demand. To this effect, aspects pertaining to both the supply side and the demand side need to be addressed. Towards supply side, the possible eco-friendly alternatives could be harnessing alternative sources like solar energy, onshore and offshore wind energy, hydroelectric power, wave energy, tidal energy, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion etc., and integration/interlinking of these sources with storage provision. On the demand side, the possible alternatives could be adoption of electric cooking, electric mobility etc. Further, the adoption of capacity subscription philosophy by power ecosystem cohorts namely power generating entities, power distribution entities and the ultimate end users could prove beneficial. In this backdrop, the paper dwells upon the Indian scenario and the corresponding panacea. Electrical energy is one of the fundamental needs for the socio- economic welfare of the masses, society and nation as a whole. Being prime mover, it is the basic requirement of a nation and its growth directly affects the growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). India is the third largest electricity producer and consumer in the world, after China and The USA. Yet more than 14 % of its population of over 1.3 billion, mostly in remote areas, still do not have access to quality electricity. Yearly per capita electricity consumption in India is a low 1181 kWh, far below China's 44 75kWh. The path breaking measures are yet to pay dividend, as supply is not at the desired level with respect to stability and quality and is affected by power cuts, brownouts, blackouts, breakdowns and non availability in remote/rural areas. For electrical energy generation, transmission and distribution, the costs (i.e investment cost, operation & maintenance cost etc.) are substantial. It is resource intensive, and hence calls for contemporary/ alternative technology at optimum cost and feasible applications for favourable Socio-Economic Return on Investment (SE-ROI). India, historically has been dependent upon fossil fuel based thermal generation at large to meet base load requirements which indeed is an environmentally unsustainable way of energy generation. [Chatterjee, 2019].