The Union Ministry for Power and New & Renewable Energy conducted interaction with key stakeholders in the power sector to assess the progress of thermal power capacity addition and address any challenges faced by the industry.
The government plans to add 80 GW of thermal power capacity by 2031-32. The ministy underscored the need to ensure 24×7 power availability for sustained economic growth, asserting that this cannot be achieved by relying solely on renewable energy sources. Recognising the limitations of rapid nuclear capacity expansion, the decision was made to initiate work on 55-60 GW of thermal capacity to address the surging demand. As per the projections of National Electricity Plan for the period 2022-32, the required coal and lignite based installed capacity will be 283 GW by 2031-2032 as against the present installed capacity of 214 GW.