As the State is slowly getting into election mode, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu cautioned political leaders against announcing sops, especially free power supply. People want uninterrupted and quality power, he said, as he inaugurated a three-day international conference on ‘Recent developments in clean and safe nuclear power generation’ at Institute of Engineers in the city.
“There is a misconception among politicians that if you don’t give free power, you will lose power,” he added.
The Vice-President said India was witnessing an increasing demand for energy and the consumption was only bound to go up further by 4.2% per annum. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation are among the factors that would increase energy demand and consumption further, he said.
Nuclear power
Nuclear energy should contribute to country’s overall energy mix, he said, adding nuclear power was cost-effective and commercially viable. This would ensure sustainable national development and help India achieve international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Vice-President added that one of the cheapest sources of energy being produced in India today was a nuclear power plant, TAPS-one and two at 92 paisa per unit.
Electricity generated by the latest Kudankulam nuclear power unit-I, sells for a little over ₹3 per unit, which was very competitive, he pointed out.
Referring to Homi J. Bhabha’s contributions to the development of nuclear energy in India, Mr. Naidu said India has been pursuing a robust three-stage nuclear power programme as formulated by him.
He also called for massive afforestation to increase the green cover in the country.
Telangana Home Minister N. Narasimha Reddy, former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, R. Chidambaram, and president of Institute of Engineers India, Sisir Kumar Banerjee, engineers, scientists and professors were among those present at the event.