Ending the Power Crisis, Madhya Pradesh Now Shines Bright

Think back 11-12 years, to the days when the lights would suddenly go out just as you were returning home from the market, celebrating a wedding or a birthday, or while your child was preparing for an exam. That darkness was the butt of jokes, but it also darkened people's dreams. It was a time of a severe power crisis and unannounced load-shedding. No investor was willing to come to a power-starved Madhya Pradesh. Lanterns, gas lamps and emergency lights sold in large numbers, and weddings had to rely on generators. After that era, in the new climate of 2004-05, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan - a leader in touch with ground realities who understood ordinary people's hardships - took up the task of pulling the state out of its power crisis.

A power-surplus state

Over the past eleven years a great deal of important work has been done in the power sector. As a result, Madhya Pradesh is not only self-sufficient but is also able to supply electricity to other states. The Chief Minister's vision has made it a power-surplus state, where availability is now well above demand. Alongside conventional generation, the state has also earned a special place in the country in new and renewable energy.

Capacity up from 5,173 MW to 17,402 MW

Thanks to the state government's efforts, available power capacity, which was 5,173 MW in 2005, rose by 224 per cent to 16,800 MW and has now reached 17,402 MW. Power supply has grown from 28,599 million units to 64,149 million units. Peak demand met has risen from 4,984 MW eleven years ago to 10,841 MW. Extra-high-voltage substations have increased from just 162 to 314, and extra-high-voltage lines from 18,048 circuit km to 31,844 circuit km. Transmission capacity has grown by more than 193 per cent, from 4,805 MW to 14,100 MW. The 33 kV network has expanded from 29,556 km to 48,037 km, and 11 kV lines from 1.6 lakh km to 3.33 lakh km. Distribution transformers have increased from 1.68 lakh to 5.35 lakh, and the number of electricity consumers from 64.4 lakh to 1.2275 crore.

Growth in power availability since 2003-04

Long-term power purchase agreements have been signed to supply consumers. The table shows the year-wise growth in the state's available capacity from 2003-04 to 2015-16.

• Year — Total available capacity (MW) — Increase in capacity (MW)
• 2003-04 — 5,173 — 500
• 2004-05 — 6,027 — 854
• 2005-06 — 6,310 — 283
• 2006-07 — 6,828 — 518
• 2007-08 — 8,017 — 1,189
• 2008-09 — 8,352 — 335
• 2009-10 — 8,771 — 419
• 2010-11 — 9,068 — 297
• 2011-12 — 9,483 — 416
• 2012-13 — 10,480 — 996
• 2013-14 — 12,656 — 2,176
• 2014-15 — 15,190 — 2,535
• 2015-16 — 16,800 — 1,610

Atal Jyoti Abhiyan changed the picture

The Atal Jyoti Abhiyan, launched by the state government in 2013, has transformed electricity supply in the state. It ensures 24-hour power for all non-farm consumers and 10 hours for farm consumers, putting Madhya Pradesh among the few states in India with 24x7 supply. Feeder separation has also played a major part in keeping supply steady: 6,706 feeders of 11 kV have been separated. Since 2005, significant electrification work has also been done under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana.

There has been no shortage of money to pull the state out of the power crisis. The energy department's budget, Rs 1,384.68 crore in 2004, has been raised steadily to Rs 20,997 crore in 2016-17. Under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, the state will carry out rural electrification, feeder separation, metering and system strengthening, for which the Government of India has approved Rs 2,865 crore for 50 projects across all districts. Because farmers now get enough power, the state has won the Krishi Karman Award for four years in a row.

Key activities: growth in electricity consumers

• Year — Domestic consumers — Total consumers (in lakh)
• 2003-04 — 46.44 — 64.43
• 2004-05 — 46.79 — 64.94
• 2005-06 — 47.39 — 65.54
• 2006-07 — 48.06 — 66.56
• 2007-08 — 54.96 — 73.65
• 2008-09 — 57.75 — 77.47
• 2009-10 — 61.59 — 82.18
• 2010-11 — 69.09 — 90.75
• 2011-12 — 73.53 — 96.33
• 2012-13 — 77.49 — 101.50
• 2013-14 — 81.60 — 109.50
• 2014-15 — 85.80 — 115.82
• 2015-16 — 89.45 — 122.75

To stop unauthorised use of electricity, a planned programme was run to replace LT lines with aerial bunched cables and to install smart meters under the UDAY scheme. Low-tension lines on domestic feeders have been converted to aerial bunched cable to cut AT&C losses.

A large drive was carried out to convert temporary farm pump connections into permanent ones. A farmer subsidy scheme was introduced, under which the distribution company receives grants for the infrastructure needed for permanent connections, and an 'Own Your Transformer' scheme lets farmers install their own transformers. In the past five years, permanent farm pumps have risen from 10.66 lakh to 22.04 lakh, while temporary pumps have fallen from 10.08 lakh to 5.10 lakh. The 'Mukhyamantri Sthayi Krishi Pump Connection Yojana', now in force, will convert temporary pumps to permanent ones and give new permanent connections. It will cost about Rs 4,000 crore and is to be completed by June 2019.

53,660 villages electrified

A total of 53,660 inhabited villages in the state have been electrified through conventional energy sources. Only 7 inhabited villages remain to be electrified this way, and this will be done in the current financial year.

World Bank praises power connection norms

To improve the ease of doing business, the number of documents needed for a new industrial power connection has been cut from 14 to 2, and the requirement for a no-objection certificate from the environment department has been removed. The state has ended the rule that the electrical inspector must grant charging permission for new installations up to 33 kV, introducing self-certification and authorising chartered safety engineers instead. A World Bank report praised these steps, noting that Madhya Pradesh is a state that has fully met all five criteria for granting electricity connections.

Fifteen electricity services have been brought under the Public Services Delivery Guarantee Act, 2010, including new connections, replacing stopped or faulty meters, infrastructure work, electrification of colonies and in-principle approval for connecting solar and wind power producers to the grid. These services have fixed time limits, with penalties for delays.