Attributing the
breakdown of the Northern Grid on Monday to an increasing
demand-supply gap, India Inc has pitched for urgent reforms in the energy sector.
Power supply in Northern states was severely affected on Monday with the failure of
Northern Grid at about 2.30 am . The states affected are Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal and Rajasthan.
"Emerging demand-supply gap is the main reason behind this major breakdown today. There is a need for comprehensive review of the power sector...further reforms in the sector are needed," Ficci Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said.
He said the demand-supply gap would not be bridged until the government
encourages investments in power generation and transmission.
"The condition of state electricity boards is also bad. They are in huge debt and are not able to buy power from private sector," Kumar added.
Echoing views, CII Director General Chandrajeet Banerjee said that continuous power problem is affecting all the industries in the country.
"We need to focus urgently on reforming power sector. There is a tremendous demand-supply gap in the country. It has stretched a lot that is why such incidents are happening," he said.
Assocham in a statement said: "India suffers peak power deficit of about 12 per cent. The situation is getting worse with the weakening monsoon and less availability of fuel primarily coal."
While every attempt should be made in ensuring coal supply to power plants, it is imperative that states should follow the grid discipline, it added.
with PTI inputs 
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