The Indian power sector is one of the most diversified in the world. Sources for power generation range from commercial ones such as coal, lignite, natural gas, oil, hydro and nuclear power to other viable non-conventional sources such as wind, solar, and agriculture and domestic waste. The demand for electricity in the country has been growing at a rapid rate and is expected to grow further in the years to come. In order to meet the increasing requirement of electricity, massive addition to the installed generating capacity in the country is required.

India ranks fifth in electricity production and 110th in the per-capita consumption of electricity. The energy deficit in India has reduced from 9.5 per cent in 2010-11 to 4.5 per cent in 2013-14. The reduction in energy deficit does not really mean that the power generation has increased with the per capita consumption. The numbers show that there is a huge gap in per capita consumption in India compared to other countries. In the last couple of years, the overall economy was down and with the slowdown in various sectors like infrastructure, mining and manufacturing segments, the power consumption was comparatively lower these periods. So the reduction in energy deficit points to the low consumption of power these years.

But now the scenario seems improving as the industry is on the verge of a turnaround with infrastructure projects started taking off, mining sector is becoming active with the coal block allocations and controlled lifting of iron ore mining in some states. All these will lead to a spurt in power utilisation in the coming years. Though the government has planned huge investments in power sector, nothing much has happened so far. It will take time to set up new power projects and start production.

As always, diesel gensets have been the alternate source of meeting the shortage of power in the industrial and commercial segments. Among the consumers, the spread of DG sets is increasing every year, considering that practically all commercial establishments, factories and big residential complexes are equipped with back-up power that runs on diesel. In the construction and mining segments, portable power has been a major source of power to light up project sites and operate some equipment. With the activities in these segments are expected to go up in the coming period, the dependence on portable power will go up which will boost the portable power segment.