Bad turbines, fuel shortage to make hot summer worse

MUMBAI: Uncertainties over fuel supplies coupled with project delays mean we could be in for a hot summer in 2008.

Last year in May, the shortfall in Maharashtra was 4,200 mw which went up to 5,500 mw in the peak hour. This year it may get worse, say experts.

“Shortage of coal in India is an issue, and needs to be addressed to bridge the demand-supply gap in the power industry,” said an official spokesperson for Tata Power Company.

“But Tata Power’s Trombay facility is based on imported coal from Indonesia and will not be affected due to this estimated shortage,” the official added.

Officials say coal suppliers will be unable to meet their commitments as environmental clearances and procedural delays have affected mining. This is a problem because most of the power generation in the country is coal-based.

However, state authorities are still hoping for the best. “We have coal linkages for all our projects,” said state power minister Dilip Walse-Patil.

Besides coal, the pricing and non-availability of Liquid Nitrogen Gas (LNG) for gas-based power units like Dabhol is also a problem.

“Globally, gas prices have shot up and it’s not available. For example, an 8,000 mw power plant in Japan is lying idle for want of fuel and they’re desperately looking for gas from anywhere. So it’s going to be a problem to source gas for our power plants too,” said a central power ministry official, who did not want to be named.

The gas shoratge will particularly impact fuel supply for the Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited (RGPPL), better known by its earlier name of Dabhol.  

“The Japanese plant’s requirement will have an impact on the spot market, but we’re trying to close a deal too,” said Chandan Roy, chairman, RGPPL. “The international price will be a discomfort but it should be temporary,” added SB Agarwal, managing director, RGPPL.

Dabhol, which has been stuck with one problem after another even after its revival, is also struggling with faulty equipment. Two turbines have stopped working, said a power ministry official.

“Out of six turbines, four have been commissioned and two are under restoration. There has been a lot of discussion with the supplier GE to sort out the problem and figure out what’s going wrong with the equipment,” said Chandan Roy.

“We had to dismantle the turbine and send the parts to Singapore. Experts also visited the plant. We are making all efforts to ensure that generation comes back on track. It is a high technology plant and only once we start commissioning its full capacity can we assess the hiccups,” added Agarwal.

While one of the repaired turbines is expected back in five weeks, the other one will take more time, said Chandan Roy.

Apart from this year’s problems, experts also say that the state has been going slow on proposed power projects, which could lead to an extension of the demand-supply gap over the next two to three years as well.

“There have been no financial closures since the announcement of Memorandums of Understanding. We need to see beyond announcements to the schedules of these proposed projects. The ministry needs to seriously take stock of the projects and do a review,” said P Ramesh, managing director of Feedback Ventures, a power infrastructure consultancy firm.

A central power ministry official said at least two projects in Maharashtra run the risk of missing allocation of funds in the 11th plan due to unnecessary delays in submitting project proposals.

“Based on the report given by the link officer for Maharashtra, the central power ministry sent two letters to the government of Maharashtra asking them to send their financial requirement details for the new projects with the schedules. Otherwise they won’t be included in the 11th five-year plan,” said the official.

Officials of the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MahaGenCo) admit to delays in floating tenders for the Koradi and Chandrapur plants.

“The delay has been because earlier we planned two 800 mw plants which would have required 436 tonnes of water while the available water capacity in Kasara is only 300 tonnes. The central ministry did some rethinking and now we have planned three 660 mw plants which will use super-critical technology,” said Ajoy Mehta, director, MahaGenCo. He said there was a similar problem with the Chandrapur plant, but now the tender has been floated.

K_neeta@dnaindia.net <mailto:K_neeta@dnaindia.net>