'Good time for India to connect power network with neighbours'

India has good opportunities to connect electricity network with its neighbouring countries, having early this year completed a national grid in the country, said Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) here today.
"In January 2014, India connected the Southern grid to the other four regions, completing a national grid. Despite remaining challenges with transmission and distribution losses, this is a substantial achievement, facilitating better management of demand and ensuring stability," Maria Van der Hoeven said in a keynote address at the Singapore Energy summit.
Southern India joined the national electricity grid in January this year, completing the integration of the entire country into one seamless network for delivering power to consumers. The five regions that form the national grid are northern, northeastern, southern, western and eastern.

"On top of this achievement, the potential for cross- border connections with Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka represent opportunities for India," she added.
"However the economic, environmental and energy security implications of such interconnections depend on the sustainable growth of the domestic system itself, supported by predictable policy," noted van der Hoeven in her address on 'Perspectives on Energy Connectivity'.
She also noted that steps were being taken in India to build connections and prepare the system for 200 million people who remain without access to electricity.

She said that the South East Asian countries were also making efforts to meet electricity demand more efficiently through realisation of the ASEAN Power Grid, covering the 10-member countries within the regional economic grouping.

"However, care must be taken when sharing such a valuable resource. Just as regional cooperation can build interconnections, regional cooperation can help to ensure the sustainable use of water," she said.
In India, three-quarters of power projects announced over the last three months have been for renewable energy plants, said van der Hoeven, stressing the need for renewable generation.
"Not only Southeast Asia and India but all emerging economies, with such fast growing demand, will comprise around 70 per cent of new renewable generation to 2020," she said.
In China, renewables are forecast to provide 45 per cent of new generation to 2020, ahead of coal. Combined with a rise in nuclear power, low-carbon generation would account for the majority of growth in China over the next five years.