Energy Planning in India: A review

Energy occupies a central place in our lives. All our activities have energy content and hence energy is a basic need. The history of economic development can be seen as the history of structural change in energy consumption. The energy transition from coal to oil after 1945, the emphasis on conservation and fuel efficiency since 1973, the present firewood crisis – all these mark important shifts in the economy. Planning for energy development and use was relatively less important till about fifteen years ago and it usually meant increasing the supply of energy from various sources. Recently, however, this situation has changed. Energy now is scarce, expensive and unreliable. Energy planning as a process by which decisions are made on the provision of sustainable energy systems including the development of energy sources and utilisation of energy, has become very important around the world and in India. This paper reviews the nature of energy planning in India, the methodologies used in energy planning, its structural features and institutional framework. It proposes some guidelines for making energy planning effective, given our socio-economic and developmental context.