Parali thermal plant of Mahagenco closes down one unit due to coal shortage...

 

Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Ltd (Mahagenco) has closed down the unit No 5 of the 1330 mega watt Parali thermal power station (TPS) due to shortage of coal. The other units of the thermal plant based in Beed district of Maharashtra, are not able to run with full capacity due to non-availability of coal.

Mahagenco has stated in a release today that the Parali TPS has coal availability enough for only one day.

"We are following up with the coal suppliers MEL, MECL and WCL about increasing the coal supply. Last year, the thermal plant had to be kept shut for six months due to shortage of water," stated the release.

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MERC against competitive bidding in wind power purchase by state Discoms...

 

Even as MSEDCL is facing allegations of irregularities in power purchase, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has turned down a plea in which MSEDCL was seeking transparency.

MSEDCL wanted to purchase wind power through competitive bidding, but the Commission wants MSEDCL to buy it at rates fixed by it. MSEDCL filed a petition in MERC seeking a review. The Commission agreed that it was a valid point, but referred the matter to a committee headed by principal secretary (energy), with representatives of wind power companies, Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) and consumers representatives. Incidentally, principal secretary (energy) Ajoy Mehta is also managing director of MSEDCL.

The committee was constituted on October 1 to study wind energy situation in the state and was asked to submit its report in three months. The Commission has refused to grant interim relief to MSEDCL in the meantime.

Mahagenco and MSEDCL had accused the Commission of favouring wind power producers. They charged that the rates of wind power approved by it are the highest in the country, but the rates of solar power, whose sole generator is Mahagenco, are one of the lowest. However, the Indian Wind Power Association (IWPA) submitted data to MERC proving MSEDCL wrong.

MERC's rate for wind power ranges from Rs 4.93 to Rs 5.67 per unit, which is far higher than thermal power rates (except new units of Mahagenco). MSEDCL has resolutely opposed purchase of wind power on the grounds that it will burden consumers, but MERC has not refused to buy this agreement. Now, MSEDCL wants competition to lower the rates.

During the hearing, MSEDCL submitted that the rates of solar power have come down due to competition, and the same would happen in wind also. It pointed out that Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003, did not make any segregation in purchase of renewable energy and non-renewable energy.

While agreeing that wind power was costly, MERC told MSEDCL that it had to meet renewable energy purchase obligation (RPO) target set by central government. The company had failed to meet its target in 2012-13 even though the entire contracted capacity of 2,350MW had been commissioned.

MERC has also turned down MSEDCL's plea for a uniform wind power tariff in the state. The Commission has divided the state into two zones for calculating the rates. It is Rs 4.93 per unit in one zone and Rs 5.67 per unit in the other. The Commission said in the order that zoning was done after taking views of all concerned parties and as per norms of renewable energy tariff regulations. Therefore, any revision was not desirable, it said.

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Mahagenco to develop 200 MW of Solar Projects by 2015…

Power India found that he Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) is planning to set up four more solar power plants in the State with a total capacity of about 200 MW by 2015.

 

Current Projects

Mahagenco, currently, is executing a 150 MW solar power project at Sakri town in Dhule district. Work on this project began last May.

 

Proposed Projects

• Mahagenco is proppsing to set up plants in Beed, Sangli, Parbhani and Osmanabad districts, which have good solar radiation and almost 300 days of sunshine.
• Mahagenco’s local administration has been ordered to find suitable land parcels for setting up the projects.

Land identification

• As land acquisition has become a major challenge in Maharashtra, therefore non-cultivable lands are being surveyed for acquisition. Preference would be given to 100 hectare plots, which are fully owned by the government.
• All the power produced by the plants would be bought by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahadiscom) without any preconditions.
• This will also ensure that Mahadiscom meets the mandatory requirement of sourcing power from renewable sources, the official said.

Feasibilty of Solar Projects

• The rising demand for power and delays in setting up conventional thermal coal plants is pushing the government to look for non-conventional energy resources for power generation.
• Mahagenco will examine the feasibility of using either thin film or crystalline based photovoltaic technology for the plants.
• There is a good potential to produce solar power in Maharashtra, as many areas have solar radiation, comparable to those in Rajasthan.
• However a  good State level solar policy is required, which can encourage private sector to put up solar power plants in Maharashtra such as in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Last year Sakri project had hit a major hurdle as the State Forest Department had claimed ownership of the project site. However, the State Government settled the issue and construction work has already begun, the official added.

 

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Mahagenco considering to shut down old plants…

Power India found that faced with a shortage of coal for its thermal power stations, the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MahaGenco) is working on a contingency plan wherein it may have to shut down old power generating sets to divert their coal linkages to the utility’s newly commissioned units.

 

MahaGenco managing director Subrat Ratho told that in case the coal supply scenario did not improve in a month, they will shut down old units and divert their coal to the new ones with a total of 1,750MW capacity at the Parli, Khaparkheda and Bhusawal power plants.

 

This includes a 250 MW set at Parli, a 500 MW unit at the Khaparkheda thermal power station and two 500 MW units each at Bhusawal. The units at Bhusawal are under trial runs. The Khaparkheda set, which declared commercial operations recently, was under forced outage due to lack of coal, while coal stocks for the Parli set were at critical levels.

 

“The MahaGenco is working on a contingency plan in case things do not improve in a month,” said Ratho, adding that otherwise, the new capacity would be stranded due to lack of coal. This in turn would lead to a financial crisis as these new units had high fixed costs, he added.

 

Ratho said they were likely to shut down old units in power plants like Koradi, Parli and Chandrapur and divert their coal linkages to these new plants under the plan. These old units are to be revamped and modernised by MahaGenco.

 

The MahaGenco has also asked the public sector coal companies to give an estimate of the coal that they could supply to them in the future, said Ratho, adding that it would do away with the “uncertainty” and help them decide on which units to concentrate on. “We will like to focus on these units at Khaparkheda, Parli and Bhusawal as they will provide maximum efficiencies,” he added.

 

Ratho also met officials from the coal ministry and the coal firms in New Delhi on Wednesday. “The meeting concentrated on shortage of rakes to carry coal from the Western Coalfields Limited,” said Ratho.

The MahaGenco needs 35 rakes of coal per day for its 7,980 MW coal-based thermal power capacity (including the two sets of 500 MW each at Bhusawal).

 

 

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