India has called for integrating
the entire SAARC region by a
robust power grid system to
address power deficit in South
Asian Countries. Speaking at the
recent Round Table Conference on
""Promoting Investment
Opportunity in Power Sector in
South Asia: Leveraging Cross
Border Power Trading", Union
minister of state for power, K.C.
Venugopal said that a SAARC
power grid linking Bangladesh,
India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
has the estimated potential to
install at least 1,00,000 mw in the
region for common use among its
member countries. He added that
although India has reached a
significant installed capacity of
1,72,000 mw, the shortages have
been in the range of more than 8 per
cent in the energy and 10 per cent
during the peak hours. Its revised 11th Five Year Plan target of
capacity addition is more than 60,000 mw, which is more than
the total capacity added in the previous two Plan periods.
Venugopal said that although the issue of cross border
trading is a complex one involving market, technology, finance
and most importantly geo-political issues, there has been some
success as well. One of the good examples of cross border
power trading is between Bhutan and India and also to certain
extent between Nepal and India.