Lok Sabha Question No. 203 (STARRED), answered on 2017-03-16
Subject: Use of Power Generation Capacity
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: LALLU SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.203 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2017

USE OF POWER GENERATION CAPACITY

†*203.  SHRI LALLU SINGH:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

(a) whether  only  48  per  cent  capacity  of  the  thermal  power  plants  is likely to be used in the country by the year 2022 and if so, the facts in this regard;

(b) whether any assessment has been made of the financial loss likely to  be  incurred  due  to  under-utilisation  of  production  capacity  of  power projects and if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the  reasons  for  the  under-utilisation  of  the  production  capacity  of the thermal power plants and the corrective steps taken/ proposed to be taken by the Government thereon?

A N S W E R

THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR POWER, COAL, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MINES

( SHRI  PIYUSH GOYAL )

(a) to (c) :  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.203 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 16.03.2017 REGARDING USE OF POWER GENERATION CAPACITY.

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- (a) & (b) : No, Madam. Actual Plant Load Factor (PLF) of Thermal Power Plant by the year 2022 will depend on several factors like actual demand vis-à-vis the projection,  the  extent  of  addition  of  generation  capacities  from  the  different generation sources, enhanced retirements of units as per revised emission norms issued by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, success of energy efficiency and Demand Side Management (DSM) measures etc.
- (c) : The reasons for  under-utilization  of  plants  include,  inter  alia,  rapid increase  in  generation  capacity  including  massive  expansion  of  renewables, conservation of energy because of efficiency measures and low availability of gas for gas based thermal power stations.

The  following  steps  are  being  taken  for  full  capacity  utilization  of power generation capacities:

- i. To revive and improve utilization of the stranded gas based power generation capacity in the country, Government  of  India (GoI) has sanctioned  a  scheme  supported  with  PSDF  (Power  System  Development Fund) for utilization of gas based power generation capacity for the years 2015-16 and 2016-17. The scheme envisages supply of imported Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) to the stranded gas based plants as well as plants receiving domestic  gas,  selected  through  a  reverse  e-bidding process.
- ii. UDAY  (Ujwal  DISCOM  Assurance  Yojana),  a  scheme  for  the  Financial turnaround and operational improvement of Power Distribution Companies (DISCOMs),  has  been  approved  by  the  GoI,  which  may  enable  them  to procure more power from the generators, thus increasing their PLF.
- iii. Implementation under Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Integrated Power Development System (IPDS) for strengthening of subtransmission and distribution networks and for segregation of agriculture feeders to give adequate and reliable supply and reduce line losses.
- iv. With "24x7 Power for All" initiative taken jointly with the State Governments, the access to electricity would increase and accordingly the electricity demand would also increase leading to increased utilisation of power generation capacity. Plans for 35 out of 36 States/UTs, have already been prepared and are under implementation.
- v. Retirement of old and inefficient units. During 12 th Plan period till September,  2016,  a  total  of  3000  MW  of  inefficient  thermal  generating capacity has been retired.  This will also result in better utilisation of more efficient plants.

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