With a number of State-owned power generation units lying defunct, the two BSES power discoms in the national Capital have sought rationalisation of fuel to power plants in the city for optimum production and lesser financial burden on consumers as well as discoms. In a letter to the Delhi Government, the BSES has said that the fuel currently being supplied to Rajghat power plant, Gas Turbine (GT) stations of IPGCl and Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS) be shifted to Aravali and Pragati-III Bawana plants as it would result in savings to the tune of Rs770 crore. The proposal by the Reliance-owned discoms also claims that if the fuel available to these plants is shifted to the ones at Aravali and Bawana, it would further add in generation of 820 million units of power in the city leading to reduction of power tariff by 5-7 per cent.
In the letter sent to the Chief Secretary of Delhi earlier this month, the BSES Rajdhani (BRPl) and Yamuna (BYPl) have suggested diversion of fuel from the ‘inefficient fuel guzzling plants’ of the State Generating Stations (SGS) — Rajghat Power House (RPH), Gas Turbine (GT) stations of IPGCl and three units of BTPS. “We request the Delhi Government to actively consider closing down inefficient fuel guzzling plants of RPH and GT Stations of IPGCl, closure of the outdated three units of 95 MW each of BTPS 3 and shifting of fuel linkages available to the above mentioned plants to the new plants of APCPl (Aravali) and Pragati-III (Bawana) which will benefit in increased generation from these plants resulting in savings in power purchase cost. This, in turn, can bring about tariff reduction of up to 5-7 percent,” read the letter written by Gopal K Saxena, Director, BSES.
Costs of power generation from the ageing state owned plants have indeed increased manifold over the years making even the revenue earned from the produced power insufficient when compared to the production costs. Costs of SGS in recent years have soared dramatically by 48 per cent from Rs3.43 per unit in 2010-11 to Rs5.09 per unit in 2012-13. In the last financial year including the present time, the costs remain at Rs5.99 per unit.
The letter which has also been sent to the lieutenant-Governor and the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) explains that the costs of power from BTPS have risen from Rs3.81 per kWh in 2010-11 to Rs4.76 per kWh in 2012-13 — an increase of 25 per cent. In 2013-14, they are currently Rs4.94 per KWh. “RPH stations, GT Stations of IPGCl and 3 units of BTPS are very old and less efficient with high generation costs. On the other hand, the new plants of Aravali (APCPl) and Bawana (Pragati-III) are much more efficient and have much better heat rates. However, these plants suffer from inadequate coal/gas allocation and are thus, not able to run to full potential,” stated Saxena.
Bawana Power Plant ready to generate 1,500 MW
With both modules declared for commercial operation, the Bawana Power Plant is in full technical readiness to service 1,500 MW to the Capital, Delhi Government said on Thursday. The largest gas plant in northern India, and second largest in the country, the Bawana Power Plant was able to produce only up to 350 MW for the city of Delhi, due to the non-availability of gas. According to the power officials, in recent months, full capacity of the plant has not been utilised due to non-availability of gas, which is a result of overall shortage of gas in the country. Principal Secretary (Power) Arun Goyal on Thursday visited the plant and reviewed its summer readiness. He was accompanied by the MD of Pragati Power Corporation ltd (PPCl) and additional Secretary (Power) Ankur Garg and District Magistrate (North-West) Udit Prakash Rai. The team of officers from PPCl made a detailed presentation on the progress of ongoing works and apprised the visiting dignitaries on various factors such as availability of gas and preparedness of the plant for meeting the power requirements of Delhi during the ensuing summer months. The functioning of both the modules of gas and steam turbines was inspected through detailed site visits. The plant consists of a total of six units — four gas units and two steam turbines.