Mumbai, April 3:

Indian energy demand is set to jump four-fold within 25 years but its creaking system is hampered by power theft and dwindling coal supplies.

The energy sector needs up to $10 billion of private investment over six years just to keep up with demand for power from an economy that is growing at seven to eight per cent, stated the report by the KPMG consultancy.

The network loses up to half of production through illegally diverted power and transmission problems leading to power cuts and under-supply, it said. India has also failed to tap huge hydro-electric potential. However, the key concern is the expected exhaustion of coal supplies in about 40 years on current trends.