(With corrections in para one)

Jaipur, May 25 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet Chief Ministers of various states and administrators of the Union Territories on May 28 in New Delhi, to discuss power sector reforms in the wake of 9.5 per cent growth in this sector.

The meeting will suggest ways and means to reduce the huge transmission and distribution (T&D) loss, programme for rapid expansion of generation in the next five years and rural electrification among other issues.

The Central Electricity Authority has estimated that to achieve a nine per cent growth in the economy, power generation has to grow at the rate of 9.5 per cent.

The power supply position in the country is characterised by shortages both in terms of demand met during peak time and overall energy supply.

The overall energy shortage in the country is estimated to be 9.9 per cent and the peak shortage stands at 13.5 per cent, said a background paper prepared by the Power Ministry.

''To meet the projected demand of 2016, the generation capacity is required to be doubled in the next ten years with requisite transmission, sub transmission and distribution systems,'' said Rajasthan Rajya Vidut Prasaran Nigam Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Shrimat Pandey.

The Power Ministry has set a target to bring down the T&D losses to 15 per cent and move towards commercial viability with the help of technical interventions by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan, he added.

According to the Tenth Plan, Rajasthan and West Bengal are the states where actual capacity addition is likely to exceed the targets.

Rajasthan capacity addition during the Tenth Plan was 755.32 MW, while it was expected to add 2,790 MW by the end of 2011-12, Mr Pandey said.

UNI