70
2 Energy Sector Progression in India
(e) Per capita consumption of LPG in rural areas was 0.3 kilogram per month as
compared to 1.8 kilogram in urban areas.
(f) Energy supply from renewable sources 24,503 megawatts by the end of the 11th
plan.
(g) Total installed capacity as on March 31, 2012, including renewable energy
sources of the country was 199,877 megawatts.
(h) The share of renewable energy capacity is about 12.2%.
For reasons elucidated in previous paragraphs, India remained heavily dependent
on fossil and traditional fuels to propel its economy unlike many European nations
that switched over to renewable resources and relied more on robust manufacturing
sector. India, on the other hand, depended on its service sector as manufacturing
sector’s contribution to the GDP stagnated at 16%, thus raising questions about
India’s development strategy. India’s energy intensity (energy input required for
producing one unit of GDP) of 0.191 Kgoe/USD in 2011 was much above that of UK
(0.102 Kgoe/USD), Germany (0.121 Kgoe/USD), Japan (0.125 Kgoe/USD), Brazil
(0.134 Kgoe/USD), and USA (0.173 Kgoe/USD) (Planning Commission 2015).
Unprecedented population growth, inadequate indigenous resources and funds, cost
overrun, bilateral and international conflicts, archaic technology, and several other
factors were cumulatively responsible for the state of affairs in energy sector.
What eventually matters in global competition is a high GDP and most of the
developed nations ensured high contribution from manufacturing as well as service
sector. Higher levels of GDP obviously require more energy, better efficiency, and
round-the-clock availability. A comparison of GDP and population of several countries (Fig. 2.36) indicates in order to be economically strong, a nation must ensure
higher levels of efficiency and technology use.
For India, the availability of electricity supply continues to remain an area of
concern, particularly in rural areas, where consumers get supplies for less than
8 hours a day in certain states. Though 67% of the rural households are reported
to have got access to electricity in 2009–2010, their per capita consumption of
electricity was only around 8 units per month, which was one-third of reported
consumption of 24 units in urban areas. This was due to erratic electricity supplies
and reflects significant unmet demand. At the same time, access to LPG supplies in
rural areas increased from 8.6% in 2004–2005 to around 15.5% in 2009–2010 but
per capita consumption was only 0.3 kilogram per month as compared to 1.8 kilogram in urban areas. This disparity was due to partial dependence and use of LPG
for various reasons, including cost of LPG, timely availability, and continued use
of traditional fuels. Complete switchover to LPG may take several years of confidence building, sustained supply of LPG, mindset change, income enhancement, and
adequate savings (Planning Commission 2015).
Not surprisingly, coal continued to be the dominant source of primary energy.
Domestic production of coal and lignite accounted for two-thirds of total production
of commercial energy in 2000–2001 and was projected to be about the same in 2021–
2022. As a percentage of total consumption of commercial energy, the share of coal
and lignite was projected to increase to 57%, from a level of 50% in 2000–2001.
While share of oil in total commercial energy consumption was expected to decline
from 37.5% in 2000–2001 to 23.3% in 2021–2022, the share of natural gas and
2 Energy Sector Progression in India
(e) Per capita consumption of LPG in rural areas was 0.3 kilogram per month as
compared to 1.8 kilogram in urban areas.
(f) Energy supply from renewable sources 24,503 megawatts by the end of the 11th
plan.
(g) Total installed capacity as on March 31, 2012, including renewable energy
sources of the country was 199,877 megawatts.
(h) The share of renewable energy capacity is about 12.2%.
For reasons elucidated in previous paragraphs, India remained heavily dependent
on fossil and traditional fuels to propel its economy unlike many European nations
that switched over to renewable resources and relied more on robust manufacturing
sector. India, on the other hand, depended on its service sector as manufacturing
sector’s contribution to the GDP stagnated at 16%, thus raising questions about
India’s development strategy. India’s energy intensity (energy input required for
producing one unit of GDP) of 0.191 Kgoe/USD in 2011 was much above that of UK
(0.102 Kgoe/USD), Germany (0.121 Kgoe/USD), Japan (0.125 Kgoe/USD), Brazil
(0.134 Kgoe/USD), and USA (0.173 Kgoe/USD) (Planning Commission 2015).
Unprecedented population growth, inadequate indigenous resources and funds, cost
overrun, bilateral and international conflicts, archaic technology, and several other
factors were cumulatively responsible for the state of affairs in energy sector.
What eventually matters in global competition is a high GDP and most of the
developed nations ensured high contribution from manufacturing as well as service
sector. Higher levels of GDP obviously require more energy, better efficiency, and
round-the-clock availability. A comparison of GDP and population of several countries (Fig. 2.36) indicates in order to be economically strong, a nation must ensure
higher levels of efficiency and technology use.
For India, the availability of electricity supply continues to remain an area of
concern, particularly in rural areas, where consumers get supplies for less than
8 hours a day in certain states. Though 67% of the rural households are reported
to have got access to electricity in 2009–2010, their per capita consumption of
electricity was only around 8 units per month, which was one-third of reported
consumption of 24 units in urban areas. This was due to erratic electricity supplies
and reflects significant unmet demand. At the same time, access to LPG supplies in
rural areas increased from 8.6% in 2004–2005 to around 15.5% in 2009–2010 but
per capita consumption was only 0.3 kilogram per month as compared to 1.8 kilogram in urban areas. This disparity was due to partial dependence and use of LPG
for various reasons, including cost of LPG, timely availability, and continued use
of traditional fuels. Complete switchover to LPG may take several years of confidence building, sustained supply of LPG, mindset change, income enhancement, and
adequate savings (Planning Commission 2015).
Not surprisingly, coal continued to be the dominant source of primary energy.
Domestic production of coal and lignite accounted for two-thirds of total production
of commercial energy in 2000–2001 and was projected to be about the same in 2021–
2022. As a percentage of total consumption of commercial energy, the share of coal
and lignite was projected to increase to 57%, from a level of 50% in 2000–2001.
While share of oil in total commercial energy consumption was expected to decline
from 37.5% in 2000–2001 to 23.3% in 2021–2022, the share of natural gas and