CEA to modify standards of power plants

With the integration of large scale renewable energy sources, the Central Electricity Authority is planning to modify the standards of the power plants and power equipment, CEA Chairman S.D. Dubey said on Sunday.

"In view of large-scale induction of renewable energy sources, we are going to modify and revise the standards of construction, operations and maintenance of power plants, including thermal, hydro and renewable along with grid operations and others," Dubey said. 

In regard to new standardisation, the authority has completed consultations and deliberations with all stakeholders and comments from stakeholders are to be incorporated.

Citing an example of the standards of thermal power plants that the CEA is moving to change, he said, "There were sub-critical technology based plants. Now, we are going to have super-critical technology and ultra-critical technology based plants."

In the 12th Plan period, 40 per cent of power projects were super critical, but from the 13th Plan period and beyond, most of the thermal plants will be based on super-critical technology as well as ultra-critical technology, he said.

Power plants with an aggregated capacity between 22,000 MW to 30,000 MW either have no fuel linkages or have fuel linkages but no power purchase agreements, he said.

"The central government is likely to formulate a policy to address this complexity," he said.

With an objective to utilise domestic coal in an efficient manner, the CEA has brought a policy guideline to provide flexibility in the utilisation of domestic coal for reducing the cost of power generation.

"Suppose, one power generating company has several plants, some are efficient and some are not. Earlier, coal allocations were done by plant-wise. According to new guideline, power-generating company can divert coal from its annual contract to its efficient plants. Cost of power generation would come down," Dubey said.