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Govt targets 1,098-bn units power generation in FY16

This target is over seven per cent of the previous fiscal’s target of 1,023 billion units (BUs). The actual generation numbers for the fiscal gone were not available. According to the latest report by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the government has set a target of producing 1,098 BUs of power during 2015-16. The central sector plants will contribute 411 BUs and state sector 401 BUs to the total targeted capacity.

Another report by CEA said that the fuel supply at thermal power plants has improved. Only 9 projects had less than seven days of coal supply at their disposal, of which 4 projects had stockpiles for less than four days, on April 9. This is an improvement from last month (March 9), when 12 stations had less than seven days of fossil fuel. Of the total 1,098 BUs that the government aims to generate in the current fiscal, 965 BUs will come from thermal power and the remaining from hydel plants (133 BUs). As many as seven hydro projects, which are likely to come up during the current financial year, will contribute 2,766 million units of electricity to the total generation.

The peak power deficit, or the shortfall in electricity supply when the demand is maximum, stood at 2.8 per cent in February this year. Megawatt (MW) refers to generation capacity while million units indicates the amount of power or energy produced. One MW can produce 1,000 units of electricity in one hour. Meanwhile, state-owned Coal India will import about 2 million tonnes of coal, to be supplied to power producers, in the current fiscal.

“Coal India (CIL) will import 1.6 million tonnes of coal for power producers in financial year 2015-16,” a source said. CIL had earlier engaged MMTC through a competitive bidding for arranging such imported coal. In the just-ended fiscal, CIL imported 0.48 million tonnes of coal for power plants, the source said. Earlier this month, state-run MMTC had said that it has received orders for import of steam coal from CIL and Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company Ltd. MMTC got the order to supply about 2.35 million tonnes of imported steam coal during 2015-16.

CIL had earlier asked power firms to contact its supplying companies in case they need to import coal through them for FY16. “In order to make necessary arrangements for supply of imported coal, interested and eligible power utilities are requested to approach the supplying coal companies immediately with whom they have signed for further course of action,” Coal India (CIL) had said.

The PSU further said that it offers to supply imported coal for the year 2015-16, under the provisions of fuel supply agreement (FSA) entered with the power utilities “in the post 2009 FSA model”. In terms of the Presidential Directives issued in 2012 and 2013, CIL board had earlier decided that under fuel supply pacts for new power plants commissioned after 2009, out of the minimum assured quantity (80 per cent of Annual Contracted quantity), 15 per cent shall be supplied from imported coal.

It was decided that such imported coal supply was to be made through a PSU importing agency under a back-to-back supply agreement with power plants opting to take imported supply from CIL.
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