Rajasthan accords highest priority to capacity generation

New Delhi, May 28 (UNI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today said the state has accorded highest priority to creating new generation capacity to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

''During the XI Plan period, we plan have a target of additional generation capacity of 2,790 MW in the state sector and 2,500 MW in the Private Sector -- a total of 5,290 MW -- as against 755 MW capacity addition during 10th plan,'' she said speaking at the Conference of Chief Ministers on Power here.

Reduction of Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses to the level of 15 per cent, ensuring greater competition (Open Access), rural electrificaiton and energy conservation and efficiency were the other priority areas.

The state had been able to reduce T&D losses by a margin of five per cent in 2006-07 as compared to an average of one per cent loss reduction for the country as a whole, she said.

Talking about Open Access, she said Rajasthan was among the first few states to notify regulations for providing Open Access on transmission and distribution system in the state and regulations for providing open access had already been notified by the state regulatory commission.

On rural electrificaiton she said despite being one of the largest states in the country it was leading in expanding electrical network, villages thereby electrified about 97 per cent as per old definitions and 64 per cent as per the new one. Rural household electricification was to the order of 40 per cent so far.

UNI