New Delhi, Sep 20 - In an effort to ensure timely implementation of power projects in the country, a national board will be set up soon that will monitor their progress at all levels, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Thursday.'With 50,000 MW of power projects already under implementation, and the balance orders for 28,000 MW expected to be placed by year end, the target for next five years does not seem over-ambitious,' Shinde told a power conference here.'But to ensure mobilisation of all the stakeholders to complete the ongoing and planned projects on time, a national power projects monitoring board is being set up soon,' he added.The challenge before the country was of adding 78,000 MW capacity over the next five years to the existing 134,000 MW, he told the conference, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).The power minister said India also needed to reduce the high levels of aggregate technical and commercial losses of around 35 percent, the bulk of which industry experts say is due to theft.He said a consensus had emerged in favour of a software-enabled energy accounting system to help managements pinpoint responsibility for the losses, plan necessary investments and track parameters relating to consumer satisfaction.Alluding to the investment requirement of the Indian power sector of over $200 billion, Shinde said: 'Making such huge sums available would be a challenging task for the financial system and will require special enabling dispensations.'Accordingly, he said, a financial sub-committee of the group of ministers had been formed under the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia to suggest appropriate enabling measures.'
(c) Indo-Asian News Service
