Energy, technology and other saviours

In trying to look for the proverbial silver lining in these challenging times that India is passing thro­ugh, I zeroed in on a few things that I am tha­nkful for. This piece is uncharacteristically personal. 

Electricity supply: There has always been a wide gap between the demand for, and supply of, electricity in the country. The deficits are now near zero, on average, at a national level. 

I live on the outskirts of Delhi, and like many others in the National Capital Region, I pay two bills: One from the grid company, and one for the backup generator. Grid supply of electricity is almost 24x7 now in many parts of the country, and my generator bill is down to a few hundred rupees, from thousands of rupees. Power is no longer a major area of concern for hospitals, industries and other commercial establishments, though backups need to be in place for emergencies.

The more-than-doubling of installed capacity since 2010 has helped reduce shortages. The peak deficit in March 2021 was at 0.5 per cent, according to the monthly update from the Central Electricity Authority. It used to be in double digits 10 years ago.

There remain longstanding issues that need to be sorted out of course — billions of dollars in outstanding dues to large power generators, transmission and distribution losses, quality of service, competition in power supply — but somehow, despite all those, supply is not yet an issue.

Clean energy: About 10 per cent of India’s power supply is currently from renewables (excluding large hydro), and that share is rising. The air we breathe is cleaner to that extent.

My home is not too far from the Badarpur thermal power plant in Delhi, which has ingested tons of coal over four decades to power homes and factories, and has now been shut down due to age and pollution concerns. I have worried about its impact on health as I crossed it on my daily commute. 

India has already committed to a 40 per cent share of installed power generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. There are two things that the rest of the world is keen to hear: When India will bring coal emissions to a peak; and when it will reach net-zero emissions. The direction of policy is clear even though the timeline may not be. 

Digital tools and connectivity: A large proportion of Indians have been able to work-from-home since the pand­emic struck last year, thanks to impr­o­ve­­ments in connectivity and tools available.

My life changed for the better when the option of a superfast fiber optic broadband connection beca­me available in my area last year. Virtual meet­ings have ensured that social distancing can be maintained while work goes on. Digit­alised India enab­led a whole lot of us to do things that would have meant us travelling a few years ago. 

For those who do move out, we are using more fuel-efficient vehicles (BS-VI emission standards), as well as ethanol-blended petrol. Biodiesel derived from used cooking oil (UCO) will soon partly power our vehicles, “reducing import dependence and generating rural employment,” Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said last week as he flagged off the supply of UCO-based biodiesel blended with diesel from an Indian Oil Corporation terminal last week.

I can see electric bikes, scooters and cars plying the roads. Their numbers will likely go up as charging infrastructure expands. BloombergNEF is predicting an increased uptake of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) globally, as progress is made towards self-driving, fully autonomous vehicles. 

Air quality tracking: If quantification of a problem is the first step towards solving it, we are on our way as far as air quality is concerned. The Central Pollution Control Board puts out a daily Air Quality Index or AQI bulletin, covering some 130-odd cities. The lockdown last year saw a jump in the number of good-to-moderate air quality days in many key cities. It can certainly be no one’s wish that activity should stop to get better air quality, but the case for activities being cleaner cannot be contested.

Lastly, the increased focus on sustainability and environmental, social and governance, or ESG, goals means there is an increased focus on “doing the right thing”. That is another reason to be hopeful.

The writer  is editor – global policy for BloombergNEF.  vgombar@bloomberg.net