Nuclear power will not be expensive: Govt

The government on Friday allayed apprehensions that nuclear power would be expensive, asserting that its cost would as competitive as other sources of thermal electricity.

Replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh said the country was unable to meet the targets of electricity generation because of shortage of uranium and gas.

He said the government was aiming at increasing nuclear power generation to 20,000 MW by 2020.

"Nuclear power is an important option. There should be no fear that it would be prohibitively expensive. It will, in fact, cheaper in some parts of the country," Ramesh said.

"Nuclear power will be as competitive as thermal power by any source," he said.

He said India requires two billion units of electricity every day but at present only 1.85 billion units are generated.

The shortage is because nuclear plants are operating at 45 per cent of their capacity as there is shortage of uranium, he said. Gas-based plants are also operating at 53 per cent of their capacity because of shortage of gas, he added.

"If we have gas and uranium, there will be no shortage," he said.

Ramesh said the Centre has given Rs 50,000 crore to states to cut transmission losses, which are targeted to be reduced to 15 per cent during by the end of 11th Plan against the current level of 34 per cent