BHUBANESWAR: Grappling with a relentless energy crisis, Odisha has urged experts in the sector of power generation to expedite technological research so that natural and renewable resources could be used for generation of clean energy. Lately, the State Government has had to resort to unseasonal load shedding in view of shortage of generation while rising costs have been a constant worry. However, emergence of innovative micro-grid and smart-grid technologies have provided a perspective to the modern power and energy system operations. There is tremendous need to examine the new applications and advanced technology, Minister of State for Energy, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said here on Wednesday. Inaugurating the three-day IEEE International Conference on Energy, Automation and Signal, organised by the Siksha O Anusandhan University, he said, the need of the hour is a sustainable and reliable supply of electricity as the major concern today is quality of power because the gap between demand and supply was rising prompting power rationing. While the shortage of power in the country ranges between 13 to 20 per cent, it is 9 per cent in Odisha. In such a scenario, the experts should advise the State as to what alternatives are available, he said. Renowned energy expert Prof. Saifur Rahman from Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute, the USA, was also present. Nayak said the State hoped to add another 700 to 800 mega watt by 2013 and asserted that transmission and distribution losses have dropped to 38 per cent from 51 per cent but new technology must be adopted to overcome this problem. The government, he said, has prepared a Vision Plan to be ready by 2020 and will invest in improving transmission and distribution. Addressing the gathering, Prof Rahman, an expert on smart grid, renewable energy and critical infrastructure protection, said the challenge was to manage the power demand scenario. “We have demand-driven supply though my philosophy is supply-driven demand. The thrust should be supply variability so that demand can be managed,” he said. Apart from coal, there is a need to look at the availability of other resources for power generation. SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof RP Mohanty presided over the conference which was collaborated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of which Rahman is a fellow.
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