Government can double power output without raising tariffs: Piyush Goyal

Meanwhile, Goyal was at The Indian Express office at the Idea Exchange. Here are the few highlights:

We are commited to giving 24*7 power for everyone, including towns and villages: Power Minister Piyush Goyal #IdeaExchange

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) July 3, 2014

We must increase competition in every sector: Power Minster Piyush Goyal on allowing private sector into coal mining. #IdeaExchange

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) July 3, 2014

We are looking at innovative solutions to solve power problems including a combination of wind, solar and coal: Piyush Goyal @ #IdeaExchange

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) July 3, 2014

I believe inefficiencies should not be passed to the consumers. Increasing power tariffs is not a solution: Piyush Goyal #IdeaExchange

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) July 3, 2014

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In an interview, Goyal said the demand for power is legitimate and good quality electricity at reasonable prices should be made available to the end consumer.

“We did about 900 billion units last year and we can do at least 2 trillion units of power generation with existing assets commissioned or soon to be commissioned,” he said.

The doubling of power generation can be done without burdening the consumer with a higher electricity tariff.

Goyal, who took charge of the ministries a month ago, said, “Ya, I am quite sure,” when asked whether this is possible without hiking electricity charges.

Supply of coal, the fuel most used to generate electricity, needs to be rationalised by allocating it to power plants from the nearest source, he said.

For example, a power plant in Gujarat that ferries coal by rail from Chattisgarh can swap its allocation with NTPC, which depends on imported coal that is shipped through a port in Gujarat.

Similarly, to solve coal quality issues facing power plants, crushing units can be set up at every mine that will ensure no boulders go to electricity stations, he said, adding that orders have been issued for installing crushers at every mine by the end of this year.

“Our focus is sorting out fuel supply issues, focusing investments in transmission and distribution, power supply to agriculture sector,” the minister said. “The bottlenecks can be clearly identified — if you ask me, the biggest one is to think a little out of the box.”