The steep fall in demand from bulk consumers due to the lockdown continues to have a stranglehold on the power sector as generation of about 3,710 MW of thermal power has been suspended as on July 16.
According to official sources, all the six units of Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant (5 x 210 MW and 1 x 600 MW), six units of Dr. Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station (NTTPS) of 210-MW capacity each, and one 800 MW unit of Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station (SDSTPS) are kept on reserve standby as the demand has plummeted over the last four months.
The seventh (500 MW) unit of NTTPS and the second (800 MW) unit of SDSTPS are the only ones generating power now at approximately 75% and 45% plant load factors respectively.
Major fallout
A major fallout of keeping the thermal generation units on reserve standby is the piling up of coal stocks, which causes their calorific value to deteriorate resulting in a sizeable fall in the energy output and the consequential monetary loss.
Sources in the power utilities told The Hindu that the NTTPS had 1.40 lakh tonnes of coal, RTPP 4.50 lakh tonnes and SDSTPS 5.40 lakh tonnes.
“If the units are not working and coal is piled up, the cascading impact will lead to about 40 paise per unit increase in the generation cost, which the utilities cannot pass on to the consumers,” a senior engineer in AP-Genco said.
The Energy Department is, therefore, hoping that the crisis will be blown over sooner than later and the power utilities will be back on their feet.
