Fuel price hike forces UP power plants to improve efficiency for viability

UP Utpadan Nigam saves Rs 1,100 crore by reducing cost of production

The hike in prices of energy commodities, including oil and coal, over the past few quarters has compelled state-run thermal power plants in Uttar Pradesh to improve efficiency in order to ensure commercial viability and sustainability.

In the wake of rising costs and stiff competition arising out of the ‘merit order dispatch’ system, UP Utpadan Nigam had drawn a strategic roadmap to improve functioning of its thermal power plants against various parameters, including Plant Load Factor (PLF), auxiliary consumption, fuel consumption and heat rate, so as to pare the cost of thermal power generation during 2018-19.

Merit order dispatch is