Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 19 2022

AsiaElec COAL AsiaElec

India requires power

plants burning imported

coal to run at full capacity

INDIA THE Indian government has used powers under binding power purchase agreements with state
the Electricity Act to require all power plants distribution utilities.
reliant on imported coal to run at full capacity The government proposes that the cost of
until October 31 in a bid to boost power gener- power from the stalled units be determined
ation capacity. by a committee comprising representatives of
The decision is estimated to affect about 7,600 the Ministry of Power, the Central Electricity
MW of generating capacity, including plants Authority, and the Central Electricity Regulatory
owned by Essar Power, Adani Power and Tata Commission.
Power. The decision will also affect stranded coal
Section 11 of the Electricity Act allows the plants currently involved in proceedings before
government to ask a generating company to the National Company Law Tribunal, India’s
operate and maintain any station in accordance bankruptcy court.
with its directions. The order comes amid pro- Indian companies have been buying cheaper
jections of high peak demand of 220GW in the Russian coal at a discount, as Western countries
coming summer months. refuse to buy Russian coal because of its invasion
The measures come India faces record high of Ukraine.
temperatures. Temperatures in the 50s over India imported 1.04mn tonnes in March, the
the last week in India and Pakistan, with peaks highest figure since January 2020, while it could
of up to 65°C, have broken records, pushing double its imports in the coming year.
up demand for electricity and air condition- India has increased its imports of Russian oil,
ing, causing water shortages in agriculture and despite requests from the US that it halt imports.
threatening future food supply constraints. Out of the 17,600MW of generating capacity
Coal supply problems and power plant break- running on imported coal, only 10,000MW are
downs have caused blackouts as the country’s operating owing to high imported coal prices of
grid fails to meet demand. up to $140 per tonne. There is no government
Adani Power and Tata Power have idled units compensation scheme to offset such high fuel
at their Mundra plants owing to underestimat- prices, meaning that power plant owners had
ing the cost of imported coal when entering into shut some capacity rather than run at a loss.™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 19 11•May•2022