RPower's Sasan UMPP pulls off highest load factor at 98.2 pc

Reliance Power's 3,960-MW Sasan ultra mega power project recorded the highest plant load factor -- 98.2 per cent -- in November this year among private thermal power generation plants in the country.
"RPower logged the highest PLF of 98.2 per cent in November 2015 as Sasan UMPP outperformed industry average of 60.6 per cent in November 2015," an IDFC Securities report stated.
PLF is the ratio of actual output of a power plant over a period of time and its potential output should it operate at full capacity during that period.
According to the report, power generation came in flat in November 2015 after a strong growth of 10.8 per cent and 8.8 per cent in September and October this year, respectively. The overall generation in November 2015 was 85.3 billion units.

The generation target for 2015-16 is 1,136 billion units (BU), which implies a year-on-year (yoy) increase of 8.4 per cent and PLF of coal-based TPS (161 GW) declined by 338 bps (basis points) yoy to 61.4 per cent in YTD (year-to-date) 2015-16.
Apart from Sasan UMPP, Tata Power's Maithon Power operated at 88.5 per cent PLF while Adani Power's Mundra ran at 84.3 per cent.
At the bottom of the table are Jindal Power's Tamnar I, which clocked 19.7 per cent PLF, and Torrent Power's Sugen mega power plant with 27.2 per cent load factor.
Sasan UMPP has a PAF (plant availability factor) of 95 per cent and has the lowest cost of generation among peers, it added.