Newly Launched National Power Portal Provides a Hub for Indian Power Sector

TOPIC: GS PAPER III ECONOMIC

Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

The National Power Portal (NPP) – a centralized hub for the collation and dissemination of information on the Indian power sector – has been launched.

KEY FACTS:

• The NPP will facilitate the online capture and input of information from generation, transmission, and distribution utilities in the country on a daily, monthly, and annual basis.
• It will also distribute power sector information – such as operational, capacity, demand, supply, and consumption information – through various reports, graphs, and statistics that will analyze data for generation, transmission, and distribution across India on a regional and state level for the use of central, state, and private sector entities.
• The NPP is integrated with the associated systems of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Power Finance Corporation (PFC), the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), and other major utilities.
• It will serve as a single source of power sector information for apex bodies like courts and government bodies; utilities for use in analysis, planning, and monitoring efforts; as well as for public users.

OBJECTIVES:

• The NPP Dashboard is designed to distribute analyzed information about the sector through GIS-enabled navigation and visualization charts that display information on capacity, generation, transmission, and distribution.
• The information will be available on national, state, distribution company (DISCOM), town, and feeder levels, and will also provide insight into scheme-based funding for states.
• The system will facilitate the creation of various types of statutory reports that are required to be published regularly.
• The dashboard will also act as a single point interface for all power sector apps. These include, TARANG, UJALA, VIDYUT PRAVAH, GARV, URJA, and MERIT.
• The system is available 24×7 and facilitates the effective and timely collection of data. It has standardized data parameters and formats for the seamless exchange of data between NPP and respective utility systems.

The nodal agency for the implementation of NPP and its operational control is CEA. The system was conceptualized, designed, and developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). NPP stakeholders include the Ministry of Power (MoP), CEA, the PFC for the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), the REC for DeenDayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), other power sector utilities within the government and the private sector, Apex Bodies, other government organizations, and public users.

QUESTION ARISING FROM THIS NEWS:

Q1) write short notes on The National Power Portal (NPP).

Sources: BUSINESS LINE, PIB, 23nov