Power capacity addition set to scale new peak

14,000 MW may be added this fiscal; major role by private sector.

Private power

Udupi Power Corporation Ltd's (UPCL) 600 MW first unit, a 300-MW unit of Rosa thermal power project, KSK Energy's 135-MW Wardha Warora unit are the projects already commissioned in the private sector.

Anil Sasi

New Delhi, Aug. 22

Despite slippages, a record power capacity addition of around 14,000 MW looks likely this fiscal, boosted largely by a spirited performance by the private sector.

Hitherto, the record for power capacity addition in a single year was in fiscal 2009-10, when 9,585 MW was added.

While a new record is pretty much certain, the capacity addition this fiscal is likely to be well short of the official target of 21,441 MW set for the period.

Till end-July, a capacity of 3,368 MW had been achieved, of which 1,333 MW or 40 per cent was accounted for by the private sector.

According to official estimates, of the projects lined up to come through this fiscal, a capacity of 10,405 MW is most likely to be achieved.

A key reason for the achievement of a record capacity addition would be the performance of private project developers.

Despite snags…

The private sector's contribution to capacity addition has shown a progressively improving trend during the first three years of the current Plan period, despite most of these projects not having firm power purchase agreements, difficulties in getting site clearances, problems in open access, lower preference in allocation of fuel linkages, and impediments such as the need to furnish bank guarantees for getting transmission corridors built.

The units that have already been commissioned in the private sector are Udupi Power Corporation Ltd's (UPCL) 600-MW first unit, a 300-MW unit of Rosa thermal power project, KSK Energy's 135-MW Wardha Warora unit.

The category of private projects most likely to come through during the remainder of the year includes Adani Power-promoted Mundra projects' two units (660 MW), three units of JSW Energy's Ratnagiri project (900 MW), JSW's Raj West Power-promoted Jallipa-Kapurdi project (four units of 540 MW), a 600 MW unit of Lanco's Anpara-C project in Uttar Pradesh and a 49.5-MW unit of Gati's Chujachen hydro project.

NTPC's 500-MW Korba unit-7, 500 MW units of Farakka and Simhadri projects are among the key Central sector projects slated to come through with a high degree of certainty.

APGenco's 210-MW Rayalaseema project unit and the joint sector Aravalli Power Corporation's 500-MW unit are among those coming up in the in the State sector.

If these projections hold, and a similar figure is achieved in the next fiscal, an overall capacity addition of around 55,000 MW isseen as a possibility during the Eleventh Plan, another record by a wide margin. This is, however, going to be well below even the downward revised target of 62,000 MW pegged for the current Plan period, which started with a target of 78,700 MW.

2009-10 achievement

The overall capacity addition achievement during 2009-10 was about 66 per cent of the target (9,585 MW against a target of 14,507 MW). It was 31 per cent in 2008-09 (3,454 MW against a target of 11,061 MW) and 57 per cent in 2007-08 (9,263 MW against a target of 16,335 MW).

According to Government data, of the 9,263 MW commissioned in 2007-08, the private sector accounted for only about eight per cent.

This improved to 25 per cent in 2008-09 (883 MW out of the 3,454 MW commissioned that year) and to 45 per cent during 2009-10.

Related Stories: