Hi friends !
Those of us who work in CIL, L&T, BHEL, NTPC, PGCIL, Adani, Alstom, JPL, NHPC, DISCOMS and so on, are all united by one common thing - POWER SECTOR.
It is such a field, where every member of interview panel, will have knowledge - general and specific. Each day in newspapers, there is some or other news related to Power Sector. And if we, who work in power sector, are not able to answer some basic questions which even an ordinary candidate is expected to know, it will reflect very poorly on us.
Due to the above reasons and due to our profile, the chances of such questions being asked to us is very high and so we must be well prepared !
Say someone among us is working in CIL, then it is very likely that one or more questions can be asked to him from the following issues: coal scam, methods to improve mining, imported coal - sources, quality, price and so on, types of coal - bituminous, lignite and so on, investment needed to overhaul obsolete machinery, recent issues of dividends being used by Govt to bridge FD, difference between coaking/non-coking coal, imp methods of mining (open-pit and so on), environmental effects, restructuring of coal india - making regional units autonomous, labour unions opposing disinvestment, etc.
For someone in NTPC or BHEL or NHPC or PGCIL : Supercritical technology, Power outlook in country - today and in 2020 or 2025, anti-dumping, Chinese competition in boilers and other power equipment, one-grid and related issues, pricing of power to industries and homes, T&D losses, environmental issues of thermal power plants and Hydro Projects, JNN Solar Mission, etc.
But, even if we don't work in CIL or BHEL, we need to know issues that are worrying these companies because somewhere we all are related in this close-knit value chain from CIL to DISCOMS. And we also need to have an overall understanding of Power Sector and the general issues, irrespective of our organisation or job profile.
I don't know how many of us here at ForumIAS work in power sector. If we have a few people here, we can atleast make a list of imp things to prepare for interviews. More focus should be on the kind of issues written above, which are of general interest, have been in news recently and are important for the nation and its energy needs. I just hope that we are able to finalise a list of imp issues (atleast) and then may be discuss them too.
ATB to everyone. May we all clear CSM'14.
Comments
My take- Alternative power sources and their commercial viability and installation problems ..... lets discuss
Whether or not we are directly related to CIL, the disinvestment and coal ordinance issues are likely to come up during the interviews. We need help of CIL ppl in this forum
also the detailed and diverse point of views are expected regarding nuclear and solar power with the involvement of ppl working there
@ISIS_mujahid : Bro I don't think we have people here from power sector.. Itni tough conditions me kaam karne k baad CSE ki prep nahi kar paate log..
Q. You have been in Delhi for sometime, give me an engineering solution to the problem of power thefts in the city.
A. My answer according to him was more regulatory than technical and hence;
Q. That's okay, but give me an engineering solution.
A. Mentioned something Spartan technical to which he squirmed and said;
Q. Is that economically viable? No, sir. Not presently. Then why shouldn't I let the pilferage continue rather than paying out of my pocket for the system upgrade and restructuring?
A. I mentioned the 'regulatory solution' yet again- highlighting that it should be the hypocentre of our efforts- but he seemed dissatisfied. I politely stated that I did not have any other 'engineering solution' for him at that point in time, to which he replied;
That's completely all right, let's move on.
Q. Have you studied boilers? No, sir.
Q. What is biomass energy?
Q. What is the source of this energy reserve?
Q. What is geothermal energy?
Q. Why hasn't it been harvested to its optimum potential?
Q. So basically, renewable energy resources are all a sham? Give me one source which has great potential.
A. I mentioned hydro energy, to which he quickly replied that 'we all know about it' and that 'it's been done and over with'. Anything else?, he quipped.
Q. What is the contribution of solar energy to the energy mix in the country presently?
Q. I recently read a report which said that India will become energy independent by 2030. What do you have to say about this? Have you read the report?
A. Mentioned something Spartan technical to which he squirmed and said;
1) by providing a recording device which records the data when its opened up. and the data can be changed only by a security code known by the authorized personnel so that even if someone tries to tamper it with by disconnecting, the data won't get replaced..
2) use of electronic -digital meters and replace the analog energy meters
3) power factor measuring instrument should also be there with the meter
Q. Have you studied boilers?
boiler is a kind of heat exchanger which transfers heat energy from water to steam. Boilers are used in thermal power plants and nuclear power plants..Boiler converts water to steam at high pressure until the water is superheated into steam and is passed to turbines producing kinetic energy which in turn is connected to primemover of generator which converts it into electrical energy.
Q. What is biomass energy?
energy generated from biomass, such as bagasse, animal wastes etc..biomass being burnt in high pressure boiler to generate steam and operating a turbine with generated steam ,thus generation of electricity, often used in co-generation plants
energy reserve?
its estimation of future availability of fuel such as coal or petrolem
What is geothermal energy?
energy generated from hot springs that originate from inside the earth..
Why hasn't it been harvested to its optimum potential?
lack of technology, commercial benefits ,lower economies of scale, surveying is difficult...presently NHPC is the nodal agency for india's geothermal energy generation programme
Q. So basically, renewable energy resources are all a sham? Give me one source which has great potential.
personally i would say "wind" , since large hydro is not called renewable energy,. it comes under power min. and not MNRE. (otherwise i am always in favour of nuclear energy)
. What is the contribution of solar energy to the energy mix in the country presently?
(don't know, need updation)
Q. I recently read a report which said that India will become energy independent by 2030. What do you have to say about this? Have you read the report?
for becoming energy indpt we need to decrease our dependence on coal and petroleum and natural gas. for that we have to find our resource in our own country and develop other non-conventional sources of energy such as nuclear , hydro and renewable energy. Unless our targets are finished within time we won't be able to achieve this objective..Its a difficult but not impossible target otherwise..
1) renewable energy ..
2) nuclear energy :types, materials
3) boilers, supercritical boilers
4) National Grid
5) EHV or HVDC lines
6) reason for power outage/blackouts
7) chinese competition in power sector
8) pollution and environmental concerns due to thermal, nuclear, and hydro
9) why transmission lines don't have insulator cover
10) what are advantages of DC over AC and vice versa
11) difference between small hydro and large hydro..what is run-off river plant? (may be kashmir angle also included)
12)types of coal in india, types of coal mines, how to calculate calorifc value of coal,ash-handling, carbon sequestration
13) subsidy for electricity..what are its disadvantages?
these are in my mind right now...pls add more