Ministry of Power has announced that it would generate 1,330 BU (Billion Units) electricity from the conventional sources in FY21 which is consistent with the previous fiscal’s target.
The gross generation target for ongoing fiscal includes power output from thermal, hydro, nuclear plants and a share of electricity being imported from Bhutan.
Monitoring agency Central Electricity Authority (CEA) who has prepared the generation program, said that the target is based on the past performances of the power stations along with the maintenance schedules and anticipated new capacity additions furnished by them.
However, it has also highlighted that there could be substantial variation in generation in case of changes in:
(a) Actual maintenance schedules and sudden outage of power units,
(b) Actual commissioning of new capacities,
(c) Overall generation mix due to constraints in availability of specific sources like hydro, gas etc.
Source-wise Generation Target for FY21:
The ministry has raised the generation target from hydro sources at the expense of output from thermal and nuclear plants. A noticeable rise is also noted in the share of electricity imported from Bhutan.
| Sources | Target for FY21 | Target for FY20 | % Change |
| Thermal | 1138.533 | 1142.13 | -0.31% |
| Coal | 1055.37 | 1058.97 | -0.34% |
| Natural Gas | 47.003 | 47.00 | 0.01% |
| Lignite | 36.000 | 36.00 | 0.00% |
| Others | 0.160 | 0.16 | 0.00% |
| Hydro | 140.36 | 136.93 | 2.50% |
| Nuclear | 43.88 | 44.72 | -1.88% |
| Bhutan Import | 7.23 | 6.22 | 16.28% |
| Total | 1330.00 | 1330.00 | 0.00% |
Quantity in Billion Units
Coal-fired plants’ growth face risks:
Generation target for coal fired stations have been reduced to 1055.37 BU in FY21 as against 1058.97 BU in FY20.
Although FY20 witnessed a capacity addition of 6,765 MW , country’s plans to expand its coal-fired capacity face risks with the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide lock-down jolting the power sector outlook.
The plants are likely to witness further dip in capacity utilization, due to the subdued demand and weak generation, unless certain reforms are kept in place to aid the ailing sector.
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