A fourth of India’s power generation capacity shut, mainly due to lack of fuel
At a time when India’s electricity demand is seen rising at the fastest pace in decades, almost a fourth of its total thermal, nuclear, and hydropower installed capacity is shut down.
According to the Central Electricity Authority’s operation performance monitoring report, 72,074.14 megawatts (MW) that comprise thermal, nuclear, and hydropower were shut down as of April 20. This accounts for almost 25% of the total monitored capacity of 289,581.24 MW. CEA’s monitored capacity includes thermal, hydro, and nuclear power units, but excludes 110 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy.
At the beginning of April, the total capacity that was shut down was 66,534.31 MW, but the lack of fuel has tripped more units.
“Mainly the shutdowns are due to coal shortage at power units. There is not enough coal supply from Coal India and there is a shortage of transport infrastructure. The other bigger issue is that some of the discoms are delaying payment, which means generators are unable to buy enough coal to run their plants,” Harry Dhaul, Director-General of the Independent Power Producers Association of India (IPPAI) told Moneycontrol.
Of the 72,074.14 MW units that were not operational as of April 20, only 9,744.85 MW are shut down for planned maintenance. CEA said that a capacity of 38,826.20 MW is under ‘forced’ shutdown, while another 23,503.09 MW is shut down due to other reasons.
At the beginning of April, the total capacity that was shut down was 66,534.31 MW, but the lack of fuel has tripped more units.
“Mainly the shutdowns are due to coal shortage at power units. There is not enough coal supply from Coal India and there is a shortage of transport infrastructure. The other bigger issue is that some of the discoms are delaying payment, which means generators are unable to buy enough coal to run their plants,” Harry Dhaul, Director-General of the Independent Power Producers Association of India (IPPAI) told Moneycontrol.
Of the 72,074.14 MW units that were not operational as of April 20, only 9,744.85 MW are shut down for planned maintenance. CEA said that a capacity of 38,826.20 MW is under ‘forced’ shutdown, while another 23,503.09 MW is shut down due to other reasons.
(With inputs from agencies)