In the next 100 days, the government proposes to install fresh capacity of 954 mw of thermal power and 490 mw of hydro power. This will be four times of what the United Front government achieved in the course of one year, the minister said.

Outstandings worth Rs 12,OOO crore with various state electricity boards will be securitised in the first 100 days of the new government, Kumaramanagalam said. The securitised bonds which may have a lock-in period of one year will have a tenure of seven years and offer a rate of return of 10.5 per cent. The securitisation process will reduce interest costs by 7.5 per cent, the minister said. The securitisation proposal is with the Cabinet and as soon as it is cleared it can be implemented as the entire paper-work has been completed, Kumaramangalam said.

A fresh look at the liquid policy needs to be taken as the price of naphtha has moved up by almost 200 per cent, the minister said. While naphtha is attractive from the environment point of view it is not so attractive price-wise, he underscored.

On the anvil is legislation for energy conservation which will give statutory powers to the central and state government to enforce energy saving measures, the minister said. The law will make it possible to impose a cess on consumers who use waste power.

The ministry also proposes to work out an assistance programme for an affordable transmission tariff for north-eastern states keeping in view their economic position and urgent need for setting up infrastructural and development activities.

The ministry wants to work an indemnification mechanism between transmission and generation projects to narrow down the mismatch and effect penalty clauses for slow moving projects.

A ministry team is meeting the finance minister on Friday to discuss inter-ministerial hurdles which crop up in the way of speedy clearance of private sector projects. The Crisis Resolution Group in the ministry has scheduled a meeting on October 21 to discuss inter-organisational glitches.

Kumaramangalam said, he has a vision of providing power on demand by the year 2010. Currently there is a shortage of 6 per cent on base load and 12 per cent on peaking load. The government can make an annual investment of Rs 5,000 crore to 6,000 crore in the power sector which by itself cannot be sufficient to mitigate power shortage in the country, he remarked.

The minister highlighted that the power ministry generates the largest amount of revenue for the government as illustrated by the aggregate dividend pay-out of Rs 847 crore by all the government owned power companies. National Thermal Power Corporation handed over a dividend cheque of Rs 650 crore to the minister on Friday morning.