An Examination of the Narratives about the Electricity Sector

I enumerate some of the narratives about the electricity sector in India and examine them in detail. Coal is a major source for energy in India and forms a significant part of India’s present electricity mix, while the share of renewable energy sources is increasing. Share of hydro has declined over the years, and the share of nuclear is set to rise as several reactors are under construction and more have been approved. The paper comments on limitations of using levelized cost of electricity generation as a metric for comparing different technology options and suggests replacing it by an approach based on system modelling. Electricity demand is rising, and renewable energy sources and large hydro cannot meet the total projected demand. Switching over to a mix that addresses environment concerns has a cost attached to it and these costs need to be recognized and paid. After an examination of narratives, the paper ends with detailed observations about the electricity sector with the objective of providing evidence-supported perspective to public and also inputs for the formulation of policies.