Skip to main content

Gujarat’s lag in household power consumption

The Gujarat government has long claimed that one of the major reasons for the state’s economic progress has been its “excellent” power sector performance. The state’s policy makers have argued, on the basis of Government of India data, that Gujarat’s power consumption, in per capita terms, is one of the highest in India. Gujarat’s new chief secretary D Jagatheesa Pandian, for instance, said in an interview in 2013, quoting Central Electricity Commission figures, when he headed the state energy department, that the per capita consumption of electricity in Gujarat in 2012 was around 1,516 units as against the national average of 879 units. He insisted, “This figure indicates the progress and growth happening in the state. In Gujarat, state utilities are providing an uninterrupted supply of electricity, quality and reliable power to all consumers.” While this may be showcased to prove that Gujarat is at the top in the power sector, it does not tell the full story.
No doubt, the official figures, released in the Rajya Sabha, also suggest that things did not change much in the next year – out of 20 major Indian states, Gujarat’s per capita power consumption was the highest in India, except Punjab, whose per capita power consumption was 1,799 units (Gujarat’s was 1,663.2 units). However, what should make top state policy makers sit up and think is this — that the latest data released by the National Sample Service Organization (NSSO), India’s premier data collection centre operating under the Government of India, suggest that, while Gujarat may be ranking No 2 in per capita power consumption, when it comes to power consumption to individual households, the state is just an average performer – ranking a poor tenth in rural areas as well in urban areas out of 20 major states.
There is, so far, no explanation as to why this is so, and whether it is because of relatively poor purchasing power, as reflected in the NSSO’s own data. Yet, the fact is, while calculating per capita power consumption on the basis of the Government of India data, the top state official refers to all types of consumers, including domestic, industrial, commercial, agricultural, the government and its agencies, public utilities, including street lights, water works and railway traction. Of the 67,961 million units of power consumed in 2013, industry consumed the highest – 28,372 million units, or 42 per cent, followed by agriculture, 22 per cent (15,124 million units). Domestic electricity supply made up of a little less than 16 per cent of the total – or 10,739 units.
If one were to separate domestic power supply from the rest, which is can be done by quoting the latest NSSO data, the myth that Gujarat is on the top of nearly all major states in per capita power consumption stands exposed. Calculating on the basis of the survey it carried out across India, the NSSO report, titled “Household Consumption of Various Goods and Services in India, 2011-12”, finds that, in rural areas, household power consumption was 10.7 units per capita per month, which is less than as many as nine other major states, while in the urban areas it is 23.6 units per capita per month, again less than nine other major states.
Power consumption: in million units
In fact, for the rural areas, the top ranking state in per capita per month household power consumption is Himachal Pradesh, with 31.9 units, followed by Punjab 23.1 units, Kerala 17.8 units, Tamil Nadu 17 units, Jammu & Kashmir 16.4 units, Haryana 15.8 units, Andhra Pradesh 15.7 units, Uttarakhand 13.7 units, and Maharashtra 11 units. The scenario is not very different for the urban areas, where the top ranking state is, again, Himachal Pradesh, with per capita per month household power consumption of 48.6 units, followed by Tamil Nadu 36.4 units, Punjab 35 units, Haryana 36.6 units, Kerala 29.7 units, Jammu & Kashmir 29.2 units, Maharashtra 27.7 units, Andhra Pradesh 25.6 units, and Odisha 23.9 units.
Details provided by the Gujarat government’s “Socio-Economic Review”, released this year, suggest that, while, domestic power consumption, as proportion to the total power consumption, was 14 per cent in 2009, and rose to 15.8 per cent, and of agriculture rose from 21.1 per cent to 22.3 per cent, the industrial power consumption rose higher than both. As against 35.3 per cent of the total power consumption in 2009 (when it was 55,610 million units), industrial power consumption reached 41.8 per cent of the total (67,971 million units) in 2013. This suggests that industry took away a larger cake of the total power consumption than the other two important sectors, agricultural and domestic.
Clearly, while Gujarat has been loudly claiming to provide nearly 24 hour power supply, which is to a great extent a correct assertion, this has not been able to lead to a situation where domestic power consumption also rises simultaneously and at a pace which is fast enough. The 24 hour power supply has been taking place because Gujarat is a surplus state in power production. As the state official himself says, “The present installed capacity on conventional sources is 18,270 MW and on renewable sources is 4,093 MW against the peak demand level of 12,348 MW. This means that there is an adequate capacity in existence to fuel the future growth and to meet the rising demand of all consumers.” He underlines, “Gujarat is power surplus and selling surplus power to other needy state utilities.”
---
This article was first published in The Times of India

Comments

TRENDING

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.  

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members.  As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.