Union power minister RK Singh has said the per capita current power consumption of 1,200 units is expected to grow 2-3 times at par with the international consumption after every Indian gets access to electricity.

Singh said the power sector is witnessing an increased demand which is further expected to go up in the near future. The minister was addressing the Indian Power Stations 2019, an international operation and maintenance conference organised by NTPC .

Talking about the issues like dearth of financing available in this sector, Singh suggested, “measures like pre-payment for consumption of electricity from both Discoms and end consumers, privatising distribution companies to make the process more market oriented”.

The 8th edition of the conference was attended by over 500 delegates and it coincides with the synchronisation of NTPC’s flagship Singrauli power station on February 13, 1982.

Singh said “We need to efficiently use all the energy sources available and devise measures to enhance the storage of energy to meet the constantly growing demand. Simultaneously, on the operations’ front, it is imperative to not postpone any scheduled maintenance of the power plants and not let the power demand dictate the running of the plants.”

He said that with the centre’s initiatives to augment power generation and distribution in the country like the Saubhagya scheme and flexibility of power, the government’s directive to fulfil 40 percent of power requirements through non fossil fuels by 2030 is on track.

The government has already commissioned 98GW of energy requirements of the target 175 GW in the renewable sector. At the same time, there has also been an emergence in the need for companies to focus on safety, environment sustainability, reliability and efficiency he said.