Central, state-owned power firms stumble to add new capacities

Only 55% of the target achieved till July; no new capacities set up in hydro or nuclear power

Centre and stat-owned power generation firms stagger in the path of expanding and building new power capacities in this financial year. Between April and July 2019, consolidated additions to existing power capacities by central and state-owned power producers stood at 1320 Mw. 

Private independent power producers (IPPs) added 45 Mw in the period, thereby taking the net addition to 1365 Mw out of the envisaged 2480 Mw, denoting 55.04 per cent achievement.

Data published by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) shows that no new capacities were set up either in hydro or nuclear power in the current financial year.  In FY20, the country eyes 12186.14 Mw in fresh capacity creation from conventional energy sources like thermal, hydro and nuclear power.

Despite underperforming, generation of fresh capacity in thermal power has soared by 1856 per cent during April-July of this fiscal over the corresponding period of FY19. Only 69.75 Mw of thermal power was added in the comparable period of last fiscal. In thermal power sector, 660 Mw unit of the Nabinagar Power Generation Company Ltd, a joint venture between NTPC Ltd and Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd in Aurangabad district got commissioned. Also, in Odisha, the 660 Mw super critical unit of Odisha Power Generation Corporation Ltd (OPGC), jointly owned by the Odisha government and US-based AES Ltd went on stream.

However, hydro power on a comparative basis, dipped 100 per cent with no incremental capacity added till the end of July. The pan-India installed power capacity (as of July 31, 2019) had reached 360,456 Mw.