Electricity supply to households may further improve; Brookings report tells what new govt must do
The next government may ensure that India transition itself towards a nation that balances its energy needs with sustainability, the Brookings report said.
The 2019 general election results would be announced on May 23. It’s already being widely discussed what the next government should prioritise over the coming five years. Along the same lines, the latest report by Brookings India discussed how the country may focus on issues of development and governance. Sharing views on power sector, the report said that the next government may ensure that India transition itself towards a nation that balances its energy needs with sustainability. The consolidation of different ministeries into a single Ministry of Energy and Environment is one of the solutions by Brookings Indian analysts. All the policy-related decisions would be taken by the Ministry, it added. The government should maintain distance from the areas of energy production and distribution to revive distribution companies, the report said. There is a need to introduce independent and empowered regulators, it added.
Even as Modi government’s Saubhagya scheme ensured access of electricity to households, new measures need to be taken to improve supply to every household in the country. India may have taken great leaps in the renewable energy sector which is cheaper than coal, it involves various costs, it added. Similarly, the government has set ambitious targets for electric vehicles, but battery technology and costs associated with it pose challenges, it noted.
Meanwhile, the investment in the energy sector has surged most rapidly in the country in three years till 2018, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest report. It was up 12 per cent to around $85 billion, it added. The US and India were the only nations globally where energy investment posted a growth in 2018 from 2015-levels, the IEA noted. The global investment in energy stabilised at about $1.85 trillion in 2018 after three years of fall.
Source: financialexpress
