The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, New& Renewable Energy R.K. SINGH informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply yesterday that as per the extant National Electricity Plan, the installed capacity of thermal power plants of the country, comprising of Coal based and Gas &diesel based plants, is likely to be 243,037 MW in 2021-22 out of a total projected Installed Capacity of 479,419 MW. The Plant Load Factor (PLF) of Coalbased capacity in 2021-22 is likely to be 56.5%. He added that generators supplying power under Power Purchase Agreement(PPA) will not suffer financial loss due to underutilization of their power generation capacity as they are entitled to full recovery of fixed charges from the beneficiaries subject to achieving the normative availability.
Singh further said that the PLF/generation of thermal, (coal/lignite based) Stations depends on total electricity demand in the country which is affected by climate/weather conditions, growth of electricity demand in various sectors and generation from various other sources like hydro, nuclear, gas etc. Besides Must Run Status has been accorded to Renewable Energy projects (Solar, wind & Small Hydro). Power from such sources get dispatched on priority and is generally fully utilized. The generation from the hydro power plants is commensurate with availability of water and is generally fully utilized.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News