India sees lowest plant load factor in 15 years; power capacities operating at 65%

[anant_s]

18₹ holy shit. Even nuclear power comes below that I guess.

Its far less doc!
The costliest tariff is Rs. 3.40 per unit from KKNPP. rest are even lower.
Link

 

[definitelynotIndian]

Well, Modi is doing the right thing by installing more power generation capacity, since that is usually a bottleneck for growth in developing countries.

But with super-socialists like AAP ruling in Delhi (free water, free electricity!) what can be done?

Subsidy isnt that big of a problem. Real problem is people not willing to pay even the subsidised bills. So many people steal electricity even after reduced prices. Their connections should be cut but what happens is people bribe the officials and story continues. So many slums in Delhi that use electronic items like TV and also bulbs, fans but none of them pay any bills. Government is reluctant to take action because vote bank and that is why I like China's system more. CPC dont give a shit and does what's best for the people.

 

[SrNair]

18₹ holy shit. Even nuclear power comes below that I guess.

'Thermal ' term is just a decoration in the NTPC.When the project concieved at the end of 80s .It was dream project of K Karunakaran Ministry at that time .A Super Thermal Powerplant of 2500MW with the technical and economic help of erstwhile Soviet Union.
Locals gave their land including my friends family.An Halt railway was also developed for transporting coal from North Indian mines to Cheppad and then to Kayamkulam.
A dream project that can transform the entire state and my places.Huge job offers was also in pipeline.

But Communists did their fantastic job.
There problem was agricultural land and 20000 cocunut trees.(dont know the numbers are sure).
Unfortunately Soviet Union dissolved . Govts came after that didnt take any interest especially CPM govts .

So a coal based Super Thermal power plant just reduced from 2500MW to 350MW Naphtha.Since Naptha is an imported fuel the tariff rate gone as well.
And a project that was supposed to transform the face of Kerala was just reduced to a useless venture for locals.

That is why we have 18/rs unit

An interesting insight into why discoms create power-cuts-

Watch: Truth vs Hype - The Myth of Power Crisis - NDTV

(Minute 14:00...)



Via @sancho !



We recently upgraded our major transmission lines linking India’s five regional grids from 400 kilovolts to 765 kilovolts. We have around 26% power loses but the problem is not actually the transmission line but theft - 80 percent of power loss is theft!

India will spend 253 billion rupees ($4.1 billion) to tackle rampant theft of electricity by rolling out metering in cities and upgrading old distribution networks.

India to invest $4 billion to tackle power theft | Reuters

Meanwhile interestingly factories and businesses across India are switching to their own solar electricity grids and are even exporting/selling the balance to others.

Power-hungry businesses build their own solar plants| Reuters

This is what I am talking about.

 

[anant_s]

But Communists did their fantastic job.
There problem was agricultural land and 20000 cocunut trees.(dont know the numbers are sure).
Unfortunately Soviet Union dissolved . Govts came after that didnt take any interest especially CPM govts .

originally even Kudankulam NPP was destined for Kerala, unfortunately the strong communist parties and environmentalists blocked the project and it went to nearby Tirunenveli district. had the plant been their in Kearala, the state would have got bulk share of generation and at very competitive prices.

 

[SrNair]

originally even Kudankulam NPP was destined for Kerala, unfortunately the strong communist parties and environmentalists blocked the project and it went to nearby Tirunenveli district. had the plant been their in Kearala, the state would have got bulk share of generation and at very competitive prices.

And youths ,even educated is still flying to the GCC for a job and carreer.
BMW plant was also intented for us but didnt allowed here as usual.

In kudankulam case you cant blame the people,because we dont have any trust in our govt.

And new gen in here dont like these third rate commie politics.We have Congress MLA ,our home minister in my constituency .He did a lot of development projects in here.Latest one is a Public Private Medical college in Haripad .
First it was planned to establish in land of NTPC .But ,you kbow commies again tried to .block it .But Ramesh is smart he suddenly find another place owned by house owners .
Now all are going well.

Commies also blocked Vizhinjam project.

 

[kadamba-warrior]

This is something I have been aware of for some time. Most state DISCOMS deliberately prefer load shedding, rather than buy power for which they will be unable to pay and state governments are not willing to do the right ting & pass on the costs or provide budgetary support to cover any subsidy.. People who ask why populism like that done in Delhi by the AAP government should not be encouraged should read such articles.

Electricity isn't that simple an issue, but creating a mess in the sector in name of caring for poor or subsidies must stop. & we musn't forget tariff rationalization.

This is actually a double whammy. The subsidies are not only a burden, but they also hardly benefit the poor.

The states, by subsidizing power, are doing so mainly to the benefit of rich - since it is the rich who have far higher consumption while the poor get by with hardly anything other than lighting and still face equally harsh load-shedding who further don't even have the luxury of backup generators.

In other words, removing the subsidies should actually have minimal impact on the poor and will anyway be insignificant for the rich.

 

[East or West India Best]

Well, Modi is doing the right thing by installing more power generation capacity, since that is usually a bottleneck for growth in developing countries.

But with super-socialists like AAP ruling in Delhi (free water, free electricity!) what can be done?

Fight socialism with socialism. Put tariffs on subsidies.

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

NEW DELHI: The Modi government has claimed several records in the power sector in its first year in office, including the highest annual capacity addition ever and the best generation growth in two decades with output touching the trillion unit mark. What it hasn't pointed out is that 2014-15 also recorded the lowest plant load factor in over 15 years with the country's power capacities operating at a mere 65%.
View attachment 225707
That the power sector, which till recently was only worried about fuel supplies, is sitting on a fresh time bomb has been brought to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attention by top government officials in a recent meeting to assess infrastructure sectors. "Now we are staring at a new power crisis that requires an expeditious intervention.

There are no takers for all the generation capacity that is in place. There is demand but they don't have the money to pay for the power due to the health of the discoms (state distribution companies)," a senior government official told ET, adding that discoms across all states had incurred accumulated losses of Rs 2.51 lakh crore in 2012-13.
In 2014-15, 22,566 MW of capacity was commissioned, which officials and experts said were stuck in the pipeline for years till they were put on the fasttrack by the UPA in its fag end through the Cabinet Committee on Investments.
India now has an installed power capacity of 158,000 MW with 30,000 MW more in the pipeline. Another 1,00,000 MW would be added from solar power over the next five years, as per the government's plans. "Who will buy all this power if discoms are unhealthy?" said another official aware of the presentation made to the Prime Minister by the NITI Aayog on May 2 where the issue was red-flagged.
"The PM was informed that if this situation continues, it will become a very big problem and must be looked into now," he said. "The average gap between power generation costs and tariffs charged by state discoms is now 82 paise and makes generation unviable," the official said, adding that power firms already owe Coal India around Rs 8,000 crore as they haven't been paid by discoms.
A bigger worry, said experts, is that no new power generation project has been announced in the past two years and the low PLFs as well as lack of clarity on bidding parameters for new ultra mega power projects has made investments unattractive for now.

"We are back to the 1990s for the power sector with plant load factors in the low sixties. My worry is even if we tide over this crisis, there will be a bigger supply crisis four year from now when demand would rise further but no new plants are slated to come up," said Kameswara Rao, leader energy, utilities and mining at consulting firm PwC.
At current utilisation levels, electricity producers may still be able to service their debt, but their profit margins would take a serious hit, Rao said, stressing that this is a key reason for prospective investors to put off any greenfield project plans.

Officials said that the plant load factor would remain under stress till tariff reforms are pursued with states. And unless state distribution utilities are made viable and tariff reforms are pushed again, the government's 24X7 power promise would face a serious challenge.

"Just six state discoms are not in the red - Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab, West Bengal, Delhi and Sikkim and transmission and distribution sectors require an investment of Rs 3 lakh crore," said an official referring to the NITI Aayog presentation to the PM. Top cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, power and coal minister Piyush Goyal, oil and gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan and transport minister Nitin Gadkari, were present at the meeting.
Rao said discom accounts are significantly delayed and often don't reflect that they haven't been paid receivables from their own state governments, so the their accumulated losses may be far worse by now than the Rs 2.51 lakh crore figure for 2012-13.

With power secretary PK Sinha retiring this month, his successor to be picked soon by the Prime Minister-led Appointments Committee of the Cabinet would have his plate full, said an official, referring to the new challenges that have arisen in the sector that the government is gearing up to counter. "The focus is now more on transmission and distribution sector," said a power ministry statement, recapping its 'record achievements' in the government's first year on Wednesday.
India sees lowest plant load factor in 15 years; power capacities operating at 65% - The Economic Times

Power demand has crossed the 1.50 lakh Mw level for the first time because of increased farm demand and reduced generation from hydel power stations as the monsoon recedes, pushing electricity prices on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) to a record.

About 1.47 lakh Mw of this was met while there was a shortfall of 4,500 Mw. The average market clearing price rose to a new high of Rs 3.64 per unit on the exchange, up 32 per cent from Rs 2.74 in August.

​

Indian Energy Exchange prices hit record high as power demand zooms past 1.50 lakh Mw - The Economic Times

 

[Godman]

Damm we need to solve this problem ASAP
On topic
Populist policies of some parties are the main coluprits

and when they get rid if populist policies they lose support

 

[Star Wars]

Power deficit is at a record low of 3.6%: Power Minister Piyush Goyal | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis

Piyush Goyal

I was making a thread on that earlier when my power went off, then i decided not to

 

[anant_s]

Power demand has crossed the 1.50 lakh Mw level for the first time because of increased farm demand and reduced generation from hydel power stations as the monsoon recedes, pushing electricity prices on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) to a record.

About 1.47 lakh Mw of this was met while there was a shortfall of 4,500 Mw. The average market clearing price rose to a new high of Rs 3.64 per unit on the exchange, up 32 per cent from Rs 2.74 in August.

​

Indian Energy Exchange prices hit record high as power demand zooms past 1.50 lakh Mw - The Economic Times

economy is showing signs of pickup in manufacturing and if trend continues the demand will further grow. thankfully with coal mine auction, TPPs are much better stocked and geared up to operate at high capacity factors. this should offset the lack of rains and loss of Hydel power generation loss that is expected this year.

 

[Echo_419]

and when they get rid if populist policies they lose support

Search for PMs rescue plan for state discoms,looks doabel