Page 3 - Thermal Power

Coal India's supply to thermal power plants rises 11% to 50.8 MT in October

State-owned CIL's coal supply to electricity generating plants rose by 11 per cent to 50.8 MT in October amid higher power demand in the festive month. The fuel supply by Coal India Ltd (CIL) to the power sector was 45.8 MT in October last fiscal. The higher supply of five million tonnes (MT) was despite rain lashed across the mines of CIL's subsidiaries based in the eastern part of the country -- Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL), Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) and partly Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) -- during the first week of October, the maharatna firm said in a statement. In the first seven months of the current financial year, coal supply by CIL to the power sector increased by 15 MT to 346 MT from 331 MT a year ago, registering a growth of 4.5 per cent. "The quantum supplies to the power sector were 4.7 MT more than the progressive commitment of 341.3 MT till October," the statement said. The company is confident of breaching the annual supply targe

Federal Bank to stop funding for thermal power projects by 2030: Official

Federal Bank, the largest and the oldest private sector lender in Kerala, will completely stop funding for thermal power projects by 2030, according to a senior bank official. As a first step towards its de-carbonisation initiative, the Kochi-headquartered bank will halve its exposure to the thermal power sector by 2025. The bank's green power sector exposure is Rs 5,083 crore across seven to eight projects, mostly solar and wind areas. "We have internally set a target of completely stopping funding thermal power projects/traditional energy sector by 2030. As a first step towards achieving our decarbonisation efforts, we will be halving our exposure to this polluting sector by 2025," Ashutosh Khajuria, the chief mentor at the bank, told PTI here. Currently, the bank's green loan book is Rs 5,083 crore and the sanctioned book of Rs 7,490 crore. "We see our green book crossing Rs 13,000 crore by 2025," Khajuria, who retired recently as an executive director of the bank, said. On the

India may add up to 30 GW more thermal power capacity, says R K Singh

Union Power Minister R K Singh on Friday said that India may add 25 GW to 30 GW thermal electricity generation capacity in addition to 50 GW already under works to meet the rising demand. Addressing at a CII conference, Singh said that India has around 25 GW of thermal capacity under construction and another 25 GW is planned. He pointed out that India is growing at a rapid pace and electricity demand is rising very fast, which needs to be met. He stated that the country may add another 25 GW to 30 GW of thermal power capacity to meet the demand. Power demand in the country has already touched a record high of 241 GW early this month.

73 thermal plants under 4 rounds of rationalisation of coal linkages

A total of 73 thermal power plants have been covered under the four rounds of rationalisation of coal linkages, an official statement said on Friday. Of the 73 Thermal Power Plants (TPPs), 58 belong to state/central gencos (generation companies) and 15 are Independent Power Producers (IPPs), the statement, released by the Ministry of Coal, said. "So far, four rounds of rationalisation of linkage have taken place, covering 73 TPPs," the statement said. The move has resulted in the rationalising of 92.16 Million Tonnes (MT) of coal, with a potential annual saving of about Rs 6,420 crore, the statement said. The government had introduced the rationalisation initiative to reduce the distance in transportation of coal from Coal Mines to consumers, thereby decreasing transportation costs and increasing efficiency in coal-based power generation. Coal India Ltd shall be the nodal agency for conducting the linkage rationalisation.

Rs 10,500 crore in the pipeline for coal-fired thermal power project in UP

The Jawaharpur plant is being equipped with supercritical technology. It will be fed with coal from the Saharpur Jamarpani coal block in Jharkhand to be developed by UPRVUNL

Thermal power firms may transition to green energy faster than anticipated

State-owned NTPC is by far the largest to make the transition, but Tata Power and even Adani Power, despite the noises surrounding its coal business, are on the same trajectory

Power Min mandates 40% renewable purchase obligation for thermal plants

The Ministry of Power has mandated new coal or lignite-based thermal plants to either set up renewable energy capacity equivalent to at least 40 per cent of the thermal plant's capacity or procure that much supply of green energy under renewable purchase obligation. Earlier this month the power ministry amended the Tariff Policy 2016 under Electricity Act 2003 to impose the renewable purchase obligation of 40 per cent for the new coal or lignite-based thermal power plants to be set up from April 1, 2023 onwards, showed a notification. "... any generating company establishing a coal/lignite-based thermal generating station and having the Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the project on or after April 1, 2023 shall be required to establish renewable energy generating capacity (in MW) i.e. Renewable Generation Obligation (RGO) of a minimum of 40 per cent of the capacity of the thermal generating station or procure and supply renewable energy equivalent to such capacity," it explained.

Icra revises thermal power sector outlook to 'stable' on strong demand

Rating agency Icra has revised thermal power sector outlook to 'stable' from 'negative' due to strong demand growth and realisation of dues from discoms under LPS (late payment surcharge) scheme. The Icra's outlook for the thermal power segment has been revised to stable from negative, supported by the healthy improvement in the thermal PLF (plant load factor or capacity utilisation) level in FY2023, which is likely to sustain in FY2024, coupled with the reduction in dues from state distribution utilities (discoms), an Icra statement said. The PLF improvement is driven by the strong recovery in electricity demand growth in the country. A sustained growth in electricity demand is expected to improve the visibility on the signing of new power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the thermal IPPs (independent power producers), it stated. Vikram V, Vice President & Sector Head - corporate ratings, Icra, said, "The all-India thermal PLF level is expected to improve from 58.9 per cent in ...

New thermal plants: A reality check

The quest to secure India's energy future should not lead to suboptimal policy solutions

Adani Power's Rs 7000 crore deal to buy DB Power assets falls through

Adani Power Ltd's Rs 7,017-crore deal to buy thermal power assets of DB Power has fallen after the initial pact expired. "We wish to inform that the long stop date under the memorandum of understanding dated August 18, 2022, has expired," Adani Power said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Earlier in August 2022, Adani Power had informed the bourses that it has agreed to acquire DB Power Ltd (DB Power), which owns and operates a running 2x600 MW thermal power plant at district Janjgir Champa in Chhattisgarh. Queries regarding the status of the deal sent to Adani Power did not elicit any response. This assumes significance in view of allegations of fraud against Adani group by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research. This issue rocked Parliament also earlier this month and opposition had demanded Joint Parliamentary Committee as well as a Supreme Court monitored probe into the issue. The initial term of the MOU (memorandum of understanding) was October 31, 2022. Later the .

A first: DVC seeks to sell 3.7 Gw of power from three thermal units

Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has issued 'expression of interest (EoI)' for buying electricity from its upcoming three thermal power units totalling 3.7 Gw

5.86 GW coal, lignite based thermal projects non-operational: Power Min

Projects of 5.86 GW out of the total 210.6 GW coal and lignite based thermal power generation capacities in the country are non-operational, Parliament was informed on Thursday. "Out of 210.6 GW (coal and lignite based) monitored capacity of thermal power plants, 5.86 GW capacity is non-operational due to various reasons such as no Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), under National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) etc," Power Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. The minster also told the House that out of 5.86 GW (gigawatt) non-operational plants, one plant namely Bela Thermal Power Station (270 MW) was revived on October 2, 2022. In another reply to the House, Singh said the weighted average rate of sale of power came down to Rs 3.40 per unit in 2020-21 from Rs 3.95 in 2019-20 and Rs 3.65 per unit in 2018-19. Similarly, the average price of hydro power came down to Rs 2.64 per unit in 2020-21 from Rs 2.71 in 2019-20 and Rs 2.64 per unit in 2018-19. The average price of

Loans of Rs 7.62 trillion provided to thermal power plants in India: Report

Loans amounting to Rs 7.62 lakh crore have been provided by 84 lenders, both national and international, to thermal power projects in India, with a capacity of 1,000 MW and above between 2005-2022

Jaiprakash to sell cement, power units to Dalmia Group for Rs 5,666 cr

Deal will give buyer entry into high-growth markets of UP and MP, may turn the firm into a net debt company from almost debt free now

India's thermal power generation rises by 16% at 87,687 MU in November

India's thermal power generation registered a growth of 16.28 per cent at 87,687 MU (million units) in November this year as compared to 75,412 MU generated in the corresponding month of previous fiscal. The overall generation of power in the country also increased by 14.63 per cent from 1,02,968 MU to 1,18,029 MU in the reporting month year-on-year. Power utilities' despatch went up by 3.55 per cent to 62.34 million tonnes (MT) during November this year as compared to 60.20 MT in the year-ago month, the coal ministry said in a statement. Meanwhile, the country's total coal output went up by 11.66 per cent to 75.87 MT last month over 67.94 MT in November last fiscal. As per the latest figures of the coal ministry, Coal India Ltd (CIL) clocked a production growth of 12.82 per cent during November, whereas the output of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and captive mines/others registered a growth of 7.84 per cent and 6.87 per cent, respectively. Of the top 37 coal produc

Adani, Ambani set to clash over distressed assets of Lanco Amarkantak Power

The direct clash between the two major industrialist groups is set to happen during an auction on November 25

India still a long way from cutting its dependence on coal-fired plants

India is the world's second-largest coal-producing nation (770 million tonnes per annum) and coal accounts for 50 per cent of the 407.79 Gw of electricity generation in the country

REC, PFC to provide Rs 8,520 crore finance for Buxar thermal power plant

State-owned REC Ltd and Power Finance Corporation have inked a pact to provide Rs 8,520.92 crore finance for setting up a 1,320 MW thermal power plant at Buxar by SJVN Thermal Private Ltd. "REC Limited and Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) - Maharatna CPSEs under the ministry of power -- have signed a memorandum of loan agreement with SJVN Thermal Private Ltd (STPL) for financing 2x660 MW coal based Buxar Thermal Power Plant (BTPP)," a company statement said. According to the statement, the total estimated project cost is Rs 12,172.74 crore with debt requirement of Rs 8,520.92 crore. As per the agreement, the debt requirement shall be financed by REC and PFC. The agreement was signed in the presence of R S Dhillon, CMD PFC, N L Sharma, CMD SJVN, Ajoy Choudhury, Director (Finance) REC, and V K Singh, Director (Technical) - REC, and other senior officials. Vivek Kumar Dewangan, CMD REC, said in the statement that this is a great partnership for the development of the power

Thermal plants not co-firing enough biomass likely to face penalty

The power ministry would also consider reducing coal supply to TPPs not complying with its policy on biomass co-firing, according to a Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change statement

Adani Power gains 4%, hits new high on DB Power deal; up 47% in one month

The acquisition of DB Power's thermal power assets will help the company to expand its offerings and operations in the thermal power sector in the state of Chhattisgarh.