PANAJI
The growing dependency on diesel gen-sets by the Goan industries and consumers and its repercussions on environment and economy have been studied by Insights Development Consulting Group Pvt Ltd (IDCG), a New Delhi firm and a report has been out in June 2021. The report highlights the need for a reliable grid power in Goa, a tourist destination that witnesses domestic and international tourist footfalls during a specific season, when the demand for electricity surges.As industries and domestic consumers depend upon electricity for their smooth running, the government is hard-pressed to procure power from other States at a higher price. It is to be noted that Goa ranked first among States with a per capita power consumption of 2396 kilowatt hours in 2019-20. The State’s installed generation capacity is 595.77 megawatts as of May 2021. A white paper published by Goa recently determined that 40% of the power consumption is by commercial and industrial units.
According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the peak demand of the State was around 625 MW in 2019-20, however, Goa’s annual electricity consumption in 2018-19 was 3787 GWhours, which is significantly more than it can produce. According to the study conducted by the CEA in 2019, the peak demand is expected to almost double in the next 15 years. The projected peak electricity demand of Goa would be 684 MW based on partial adjustment model baseline scenario and 1285 MW based on seemingly unrelated regress in baseline scenario in the year 2037.
The current power demand of the State is being met through imports from both the western and southern grid, providing a total of 492 MW. The reliability of power supply from the southern grid is expected to improve after the construction of a substation. However, the State is suffering from frequent outages, interruptions due to multiple issues in the power transmission such as overloaded, inefficient extra high voltage substations and transformers.
It is this absence of reliable grid power, that the State is heavily dependent on diesel gen-sets. However, the frequent use of gen-sets causes a severe impact on human as well as the surrounding environment. The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) of the government of India identifies diesel generators as the major source of air pollution in Indian cities and States. There were 1.67 million deaths from air pollution in India during 2019, which accounts to 17.8% of total deaths in the country.
If one looks at the capital city Panaji, the diesel gen-sets in this city emit a lot of pollutant factors. Add to this the total greenhouse gases. The Goa Pollution Control Board has identified gen-sets as one of the contributors to air pollution that is preventing the city from becoming an environment-friendly tourism and industrial destination.
It is true that the government of Goa has identified this issue and has adopted several measures to reduce the pollution generated by diesel gen-sets. These measures include subsidy on solar energy, directing industries and other establishments to retrofit all operational diesel gen-sets with a capacity of 125 KVA and above with emission control devices. The government has also mandated that the installation of diesel gen-sets at residential, commercial, industrial establishments will be made only after securing approval from the Goa Electricity Department. All said and done, a long-term solution to the power woes of the State and the resulting economic and environmental challenges can only be addressed by a regular and reliable grid-power supply.
