Power

THERMAL

Govt. jacks up thermal power output, averts major blackout

Coal-fired electricity generation has registered a sharp increase this month, preventing largescale blackouts as the power, coal and railway ministries made a concerted bid to improve fuel supply to power stations from domestic sources and imports. The latest available government data shows daily generation from domestic coal-fired plants rising more than 31% to 3,244 MU (million units) this month from 2,465 MU during all of May 2021. The daily output from domestic coal-based plants that blended domestic fuel with imported coal has more than doubled from 143 MU during the period from 66 MU registered in May last year. This vindicates the power ministry’s move to ask states and generation companies to import coal with a view to supplement availability of domestic fuel as the growth in power demand outstrips rise in production by a wide margin. Similarly, the push for imports and the power ministry’s intervention to resolve commercial issues between states with purchase agreements with imported coal-fired plants has pushed up generation from such plants by 10% Overall, generation based on imported coal has risen by 43% to 303 MU as compared to 211 MU in May 2021.

No penalty on imported coalbased power plants for default: Government

The government clarified on Saturday that imported coal-based power plants, which were directed to operate under an emergency legislation earlier this month, would not be penalised for default in case states do not offtake electricity and the average prices on power exchanges are inadequate. This means imported coal-fired power plants now have the option to avoid selling on power exchanges if states that buy power from them refuse to offtake the electricity. The government invoked the emergency clause on May 5, mandating 13 imported coal-fired stations to operate and either sell to states or on power exchanges. The government move, which was aimed at increasing electricity supply and easing pressure off domestic coal, caused anxiety among imported coal-based power plants. They said selling on power exchanges when discovered tariffs were lower could result in losses. The power companies, however, sought more clarity since these plants need to operate at technical minimum levels and cannot be shut down even in case of no power offtake.

Power generation doubles in May on imported coal blending

Power generation by domestic coal-based plants that blended imported dry fuel has more than doubled to 143 million units (MU) per day in May compared to 66 MU in the same month a year ago, according to official data. Several measures taken by the Ministry of Power in recent past have ensured increased power generation in domestic coal-based (DCB) plants as well as (imported coal-based) ICB plants. The data showed that power generation per day during May 2022 increased as compared to May 2021. Power generation per day from coal blending in DCB plants more than doubled from 66 MU to 143 MU while generation from imported coal-based plants rose from 145 MU to 160 MU. Total power generation per day through imported coal during May 2022 increased to 303 MU as compared to 211 MU in May 2021. Power generated per day from domestic coal has risen from 2,465 MU to 3,244 MU.

Power crisis in India: Coal import mandate might be extended beyond October, says Power Minister

Indian Power Minister, Raj Kumar Singh has said it’s a major challenge to ensure adequate power supply amid the rising demand in the country. He further added that the directive mandating the import for coal-based plants might extend beyond October. The Power Ministry has also directed Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation Limited to help arrange short term loans for six months to those coal-based plants which are importing coal and are under stress. The capacity of coal-based plants in the country was 17,500 MW and only worth 10,000 MW is operational right now. There is a crisis for around 7,500 MW. The ministry had also declared that the 20 percent power demand growth would be a challenge to meet and it needs imported coal. Power generation companies had said that they didn’t have any money for that. After which the ministry asked RECL and PFC to arrange the short-term loans with adequate safeguards for ICB plants which are under stress in NCLT. The prices of coal has also nearly tripled in the past few months at $140-150 per ton, so the government had also allowed them to slightly spike the rates of electricity .

States GENCOs, power companies seek coal imports aggregator

State governments and developers of power projects have asked the Centre if coal can be imported through an aggregating agency - possibly Coal India (CIL) - for ease of purchase, cost pass-through, better prices, and faster execution. Recovering the cost later from electricity distribution companies will be easier in such an arrangement, a power official said. The Centre directed the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to allow power plants to blend up to 30% imported coal till March next year without requiring consent from electricity buyer states. This was aimed at building coal stocks at power stations that are fast depleting amid high demand for electricity. According to sources, daily power generated from domestic coal has risen to 3,244 million units (MUs) so far in May from 2,465 MUs in the same period last year. The total generation per day through imported coal this month has increased to 303 MU compared to 211 MU in May 2021. On April 28, the power ministry asked all power plants to import 10% of the coal they need to build stocks amid projections of record power demand.

Power gencos to get easier loans for coal imports

The centre will facilitate loans for coal imports to electricity generating companies through sector lenders to build coal inventories and keep projects running amid high demand. The power ministry will ask Power Finance Corp (PFC) and REC Ltd NSE 1.33 % to waive prudential norms for lending to power companies, specifically to buy imported coal for blending purposes as well as for running imported coalbased plants. All generation projects have to import 10% of their requirement. This would imply 22 million tonnes of coal imports by the State generation companies while private companies will bring in another 16 million tonnes. The ministry will through a direction ask PFC and REC prudential norms to be waived for working capital loans for importing coal. The waiver will be for all generating companies - blending coal or imported coal-based plants. The Association of Power Producers had said the power developers are keen to import coal but sought a bridge financing mechanism from the government to fund coal imports. Discom outstanding dues to power plants stand at a cumulative 1.03 lakh crore..

Discoms' outstanding dues to gencos rise 4% to Rs 1.21 trillion in May

Total outstanding dues of electricity distribution companies to power producers rose by 4.04 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,21,765 crore (Rs 1.21 trillion) in May 2022, according to the official data. Discoms owed a total of Rs 1,17,026 crore to power generation firms in May 2021, according to portal PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators). On a sequential basis too, total dues in May 2022 increased from Rs 1,20,954 crore in April 2022. The PRAAPTI portal was launched in May 2018 to bring transparency in power purchase transactions between generators and discoms. In May 2022, the total overdue amount, which was not cleared even after 45 days of a grace period offered by generators, stood at Rs 1,06,902 crore as against Rs 94,354 crore in the same month a year ago. The overdue amount stood at Rs 1,06,071 crore in April 2022

CERC seeks feedback on 'deterrent charges' for low coal stock at thermal power plants

Thermal power plants may soon have to pay 'deterrent charges' to discoms for maintaining lower-than-specified coal stocks, as the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has sought feedback from stakeholders on the methodology for computing these charges. An amendment in the 2019 Tariff Regulations is proposed for computing deterrent charges on the basis of average coal stock availability for the last three months. The CERC has sought feedback from the stakeholders on the issue through a public notice issued on May 13, 2022. All stakeholders can provide their feedback till May 27, 2022. the CERC has noted that during the recent months, coal stock at many coal-based thermal generating stations were reported as lower than the coal stocking norms specified by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). Such low coal stock led to lower declared availability (of power) by the generating stations, which in turn forced States to purchase power from alternate sources at higher rates. In order to recover full annual fixed charges (AFC), it is the obligation of the generating company to arrange sufficient fuel for its generating stations as per norms and maintain the availability of the plant as per the relevant regulations, the paper said. It proposed that if coalbased generating stations fail to maintain coal stock as per the revised coal stocking norms as specified by the CEA, the AFC of such generating stations is reduced.

Imported coal-based power generators ask Power ministry for higher tariff to restart units: Sources

Imported coal-based power producers have made representation to the government to revisit the tariff set by a committee as a part of the government’s plan to get power plants totalling around 8,000 MW to restart, three sources in the know said. Tata Power Company has moved to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), asking for a higher tariff than the one set by the committee. The rest of the power plants have made a representation with the government asking for a revision in tariff as the producing power at these levels will not be feasible at the prevailing coal prices in international markets. The committee has recommended a variable tariff of Rs 6 to a little over Rs 7 for these units. These units are run by private producers like Tata Power, Essar Power, JSW Energy, and IL&FS. “At this rate, we cannot afford to import good quality coal to run our plants at 100% plant load factor. We have sought the ministry’s help. Selling on the exchanges will also not be a viable option given how the prices have fallen on the exchanges,” an official said..

Coal stock norms likely to be revised amid power crisis

The government is likely to lower the minimum coal stock requirements for power stations to “realistic" levels in order to reduce the financial burden on gencos as they grapple with fuel shortages that have triggered a power crisis. Though the number of days of coal stock at power plants is still being discussed sources close to the Ministry cited above said it may be brought down to 10 days of coal stock for pit head power plants running at 85% of capacity and around 14 days for non-pit head plants running at same capacity. A similar norm was followed prior to the pandemic, before it was moved to distance-based differential stocking limits.

Currently, as per the distance-based differential stocking norms, pit head power plants (power plants that are close to coal bearing areas) are required to maintain coal stock sufficient to run power stations at 85% of their capacity for 1217 days. For non-pit head power plants, the limit varies from 20 days to 26 days depending on the distance of the plant from coal source.

RENEWABLES

Progress towards renewable energy would have averted power crisis: Analysis

India could have averted the power crisis last month if progress towards the 175 GW renewable energy goal had been on track, reveals a new analysis by think tank Climate Risk Horizons. The analysis shows that the additional generation from solar and wind would have erased the energy shortage and would have allowed power plants to conserve their dwindling coal stocks for evening peak periods when solar generation dips. The additional renewable energy generation would have translated into a saving of at least 4.4 million tonnes of coal. Analysts also stated that the power shortage has led to calls to further augment India's coal power and mining capacity as the crisis was a result of lack of coal supply, due to logistical and cash flow reasons. Logistical constraints in the coal supply chain are a permanent feature and will certainly recur, as will heat waves; the best safeguard is to diversify our electricity mix. This reinforces the need for the center and state governments to rapidly scale up their RE deployment and reduce

Subsidy hike, easing policy norms to push solar power

Aiming to incentivise installation of solar energy panels, which has seen few takers in the city so far, the Delhi government is likely to increase the subsidy and ease norms to make it more lucrative for residents. At present, individuals get an incentive of Rs 2 per unit only if at least 1,100 units per KW are generated in a year, and none if the generation is less. According to sources, this condition could be removed in the new solar policy that is currently being formulated, thereby permitting everyone to avail the benefits. Till the first week of May, only 3,168 households in Delhi had opted for rooftop solar plants. Sources said only 50 of about 1,400 group housing societies had the plants installed on the terrace of their buildings. Sources said the Delhi government could also offer subsidies on installation of rooftop solar energy plants — 40% on smaller ones of up to 3KW and a little less on bigger ones — to make them more affordable. Currently, the Union ministry of new and renewable energy provides 30% subsidy on benchmarked installation cost of solar panels.

As electricity demand soars, wind and hydropower come to the rescue

A pick-up in wind speed in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu before the onset of early monsoons is helping meet electricity demand across India, said two government officials aware of the development. With water levels going up in reservoirs due to rains and high wind speed over the last 15 days, Karnataka is meeting more than 60% of its

power demand from renewable energy sources, and selling surplus wind power to neighbouring states. This in turn has freed up its coal-fuelled power generation capacity to cater to demand in other parts of the country. Similarly, Tamil Nadu is planning to switch to renewables to meet a large part of its power needs from 21 May, based on an assessment that suggests favourable weather and predictable wind conditions. Also, with 1 gigawatt (GW) of hydropower expected to come from the Bhakra dam in Himachal Pradesh, there may be some short-term respite to the ongoing power crisis in the country. With wind speed picking up before an expected early monsoon, there has been some relief in meeting the power demand. Karnataka is not using its requisite quota of coal to fire the power plants but has engaged all its wind mills to meet the shortages and even supply surpluses to neighbouring states.

India, Nepal agree to build hydroelectric power plant

India and Nepal will build a 695MW (megawatt) hydropower plant, officials said. India, which has an electricity trading deal with Nepal, is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure including hydropower plants, as New Delhi looks to grow its influence in its smaller neighbours, where China is also increasingly active. The Arun IV project will be jointly built on the Arun River in Nepal's east by India's Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited and Nepal's state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) owing 51% and 49% of equity respectively, NEA spokesperson Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai said. Nepal will get 152MW of free electricity from the plant for its consumption. Cost of the project is being worked out and whatever it comes will be shared as per the above ratio. Nepal has the potential to produce 42,000MW of hydropower but now generates about 1,200MW — less than demand of about 1,750MW. The deficit is met by imports from India.

Himachal Pradesh invites bids to run 27 hydro power projects

The Himachal Pradesh government will allot 27 hydroelectricity projects of 722.4-megawatt combined tentative power generation capacity in Chamba, Kangra, , Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, Shimla and Kinnaur districts. It has invited bids from the private sector for running these projects on ‘build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT)’ basis. The developers will be required to pay the government a royalty in the form of free power from the projects. Of the 27 projects, 9 are in Chamba, 7 in Kinnaur, 5 in Kullu, 2 on the border of Chamba and Kangra, and one each in Kangra, Lahaul-Spiti, and Shimla, besides on border of Lahaul-Spiti , and Shimla, besides on border of Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba. Detailed reports for 7 projects are ready, while the preliminary feasibility reports (PFRs) for the rest are available. The developers will be free to dispose of the remaining power after meeting the royalty commitments and additional free power at 1 per cent of the deliverable energy on account of local area development fund (LADF).