Spike in electricity demand
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: March 02, 2023 -
IT’S heartening to hear power minister Th Biswajit declaring in the assembly that Manipur will become a self-sufficient state in power generation in two years’ time.
Along with advancement in science and technology there has been relentless manufacture and production of new appliances and gadgets, all operating on electric power, thereby necessitating improvement in electricity supply with efficient distribution, reasonable price and reliable generation with due consideration to the environment as life without electricity in this age would be unimaginable.
Some decades back, usage of electricity in the state was limited to lighting the homes compared to the present age when advent of different devices for convenience and basic necessities had made electricity essential part of life.
That electricity demand is or will growing higher than any other form of energy could be comprehended from estimation by the International Energy Agency few years back that it will grow by 70 per cent in the period 2010-2035 with four-fifth of the growth in developing countries especially China, India and the Middle East.
With competition for economic development going on at the global level at a break-neck pace, there has been ever increasing amounts of electricity produced to run industry, transportation as well as households.
The spike in demand also helped in the development of nuclear energy generated power in many countries amid expression of grave concern by environmentalists and rights organisations that emphasis on nuclear power plants is fraught with great danger. The story does not end and progress in electricity generation, transmission and distribution is ongoing.
In the state’s context, among others, the recent launch of two electric vehicles (EVs) by chief minister N Biren at his secretariat office, battery-operated private as well as commercial vehicles becoming popular mode of transportation and various institutions and commercial outlets operating till late evening, the demand for electricity will only spike.
While efforts are being made in developed countries to augment electricity generation through installation of wind and solar devices, and extraction of coal, it’s an undeniable fact that in Manipur the conventional hydro-generated electricity remains the most reliable and efficient source of energy.
Even the innovative battery-vehicles, seen as ultimate replacement for fuel-operated vehicles, rely on electricity thereby implying that effectiveness of the Manipur Electric Mobility Policy 2022 would rest on constant supply of electricity.
Under the Policy, the state envisages adoption of at least 20 per cent electric vehicles by 2026 so as to reduce carbon emission and consequently keep the environment clean.
The government of India, too, is targeting to increase use of e-vehicles and cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2070, which means gradual phasing out of the fuel-based vehicles.
Considering the fact that there were times in Manipur when, barring the elected representatives and high officials, the general consumers only received power supply only for four to six hours a day in-spite of the state having the 105 MW Loktak hydroelectric power project, the masses would be hoping that those dark days wouldn’t return.
Therefore, onus is on the establishment to explore all sources of electricity generation and ensure sufficient availability of electricity without which the state would only regress.
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