68,000MW projects face a blackout

November 10, 2008

The power ministry had earlier asked the coal ministry for coal to generate 125,000MW, which includes 68,000MW for so-called independent power producers, or IPPs. It later scaled down its demand to 35,000MW, with half this amount designated for IPPs. The coal ministry had agreed to supply coal for only 10,000MW.

Ways of coping: A coal mine in Andhra Pradesh. India will not meet its projected demand of 730mt by 2012, unless 100mt of coal is imported. Noah Seelami / AFP

Imported coal typically has a higher calorific value, which reduces wastage and also improves the efficiency of power plants. Analysts estimate that one tonne of imported coal is equivalent to 1.56 tonnes of domestic coal.

To generate 1MW of power, around 5,000 tonnes of coal per annum is required. India has 256 billion tonnes of coal reserves, of which around 455mt is mined every year. The country currently imports around 40mt of coal.

Domestic coal demand is expected to touch around 2 billion tonnes a year by 2031-32, about five times the current rate of extraction, with the maximum demand coming from the power sector.

However, power project developers are not happy with the arrangement. “Even if the imported coal is priced at around $70 (about Rs3,346) per tonne at the entry ports, with inland transportation, it will come to around $94 per tonne. This, in turn, will increase the electricity tariff by around 10-15% depending upon the amount of imported coal used,” said a Hyderabad-based IPP developer on condition of anonymity. Domestic coal is available for Rs1,000 a tonne (including transportation costs).

While the coal ministry has expressed its inability to meet the demand due to the long gestation time required for the development of new mines, the power ministry is of the view that there is a shortage of 14mt even for the operating stations due to low production by CIL, the country’s largest mining company.

CIL has a coal output of 380 million tonnes per annum, or mtpa, and plans to increase it to 405mtpa by 2009-10.

H.C. Gupta, coal secretary, said, “We need to maximize domestic production and any gap has to be met through imports. The coking coal (used by the power sector) production in the country has not grown as per the demand. As per the 11Plan (2007-12) projections, we expect the imported coking coal demand for the power sector to go up to 40 mtpa by 2012.”

The government would not be able to meet the projected demand for about 730mt of coal by 2012, unless 100mt of the fuel is imported.

According to India’s economic survey for 2007-08, growth in coal production has dropped from a high of 6.2% between April and December 2006 to 4.9% in the same period in 2007.

On 9 September, Mint had reported that power projects capable of generating a combined 68,000MW were being put at risk because of the government’s failure to assure coal supplies.

“Inevitability of coal imports may not be synonymous to CIL being the facilitator since such canalizations may mean additional cost to the consumer in terms of CIL’s administration charges. However, such options of imports that exist for most power producers may be well exercised by developing bargaining power in the international markets through demand consolidation, which CIL can assist with. There is a need to look at import markets with a long-term view, rather than resorting to ad hoc spot purchases, which may be expensive and uncertain,” said Dipesh Dipu, principal consultant (mining) with audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.