If the recommendations of a special forum constituted by the Delhi Government are accepted, then the national Capital is set to witness a major transformation in the power sector. Fuel-guzzling power stations like the Rajghat Power House, in all likelihood, will finally and permanently be shut by October and Tata Power owned gas-based power plant in Rithala will be de-commissioned among numerous other actions. With this, the Delhi Government plans to bring the under-performing 1,500 MW gas-based power plant in Bawana back to life and find alternate, though long-term, ways to reduce power tariffs in the city.
A letter written by the Power Department to Delhi Transco limited (DTl), accessed by The Pioneer, revealed that Delhi’s Power Minister Satyendra Jain had asked DTl along with the distribution companies to give recommendations “clearly specifying the timelines by which the power from NTPC Badarpur Plant can be surrendered and Rajghat Plant can be shut down so that gas allocation of the same can be re-allocated to the Bawana Power Plant.” It had also asked to assess the demand and supply in the Capital for a detailed power reallocation plan to be drafted.
A forum in this regard was set up comprising the State load Dispatch Centre (SlDC) and the Delhi Power Procurement Group (DPPG) which comprises DTl, discoms Tata Power Delhi Distribution limited (TPDDl), BSES Yamuna Power limited (BYPl), BSES Rajdhani Power limited (BRPl), and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
The recommendations taken in its meeting which was held on March 27 are as follows:
Closure of Rajghat Power House (RPH)
nThe forum stated that in system operation point of view, the 135 MW RPH plant can be closed down immediately and forever after this summer, which means after September 30. As reported several times before, the units in this plant have outlived their useful life as Unit-1 was commissioned in the year May 1990 and Unit-2 was commissioned during January 1990 whereas the normal life of any such plant is 25 years. “Due to aging of the plant, the efficiency of the plant has also come down. During last summer season, the plant could not deliver 60 per cent of its capacity,” said a senior official who was present in the meeting.
Closure of PPCl’s Pragati Station
nIt was decided that full generation of Pragati Stage-I be maintained during summer months and the gas allocation of entire station be diverted to Bawana CCGT during the period October to March till the under construction Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) is commissioned at RPH. “After the commissioning of 400 kV ISTS at RPH with outlets at RPH, the entire Pragati Stage-I station may be closed down if the generating company could not assure the cheap gas to run the plant, to get rid of the fixed charges liabilities for non-utilisation period,” said the official.
Closure of IPGCl’s Gas Turbine Station
nThe forum was of the view that the decision of closing of GT Station be left to State Government considering the black start facility available and the overall interest of the consumers. Black start is the process of restoring a power station to operation without relying on the external electric power transmission network “The cost of GT Station of IPGCl is very high which is about Rs5.50. Moreover, the plant has lived its useful life, is obsolete and there will be no problem if it is immediately shut down. But, the only hitch is that this is the only plant which has a black start facility, which is a very rare incident,” he added.
Closing down of Badarpur Thermal Power Station
nIt was recommended that the Government should to take up the matter with NTPC to avoid infusion of additional funds for R&M activities for the already outlived inefficient plant. Besides, the Central Government needs to permanently reallocate 285 MW capacity of the plant.
Closing of Rithala Power Plant
nConsidering the overall situation of gas in the country and to avoid the burdening the fixed charges, the forum has advised TPDDl to de-commission the plant immediately.
Inter-state power procurement
nIt was decided that the entire allocation of Delhi from Anta, Auriya and Dadri Gas Stations be reallocated to needy States forever from October 2015.
With these suggestions, the Aam Aadmi Party Government intends to send a detailed report to the Central Government about the reallocation of power in the Capital.