Snag in Sasan thermal plant hits Punjab

PATIALA: A snag in the ultra-mega thermal plant located at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh has forced Punjab to buy power at much higher rates from other sources to meet the shortfall.
The said thermal power project is situated near a coal pit head and is run by the Reliance Power Ltd (Anil Ambani group). The mega plant has the capacity of generating 3722.4 Mega Watts (MW) of electricity is now producing much less power effecting Punjab in the paddy season.
The power station is meant to supply power to seven different procurer states including Punjab which has a share of 15 % in the total production.On August 16th the production fell down to 824 MW registering a loss of 2898.4 MW. It implies that Punjab suffered a loss of 10.4 million units.
Average availability of power at Sasan has been recorded as, Aug 17, 851 MW, on August 18, 1608 August 19, 1795 MW, August 20, 1646, on August 21, 2505 MW, and on August 22, 2756 MW. Position on August 23 had not stabilised. At 0000 hours August 23 the availability was 2750 MW. At 0600 hours availability was 2850 MW. At 1200 hours availability crashed to only 1700 MW which was only 45.67% of the station capacity of 3722.4 MW.
Set up in 2013, it caters to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Utrakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi besides Punjab. The thermal plant as per an agreement with the Central government supplies Madhya Pradesh 37.5 %, Uttar Pradesh 12.5 %, Utrakhand 2.5 %, Haryana 11.25 % Rajasthan 10 % and Delhi 11.25 % of the total energy generation.
The electricity produced by Sasan thermal plant is priced at Rs 1.58 per unit while in Punjab private sector thermal plants sell their electricity to the state at a much higher rate. Talwandi Sabo power plant prices its energy at Rs 7.26 paisa per unit and the Rajpura thermal plant sells at Rs 4.10 paisa per unit.
Er. Padamjit Singh, patron of All India Power Engineers’ Federation (AIPEF) explains that the thermal power plants located in Punjab have to incur excessive fuel costs as the coal is transported from a distance of 1500 kilometres while Sasan is situated on the coal pit head.
The Reliance Power Ltd achieved 97.74 % of the MW availability of energy in the month of April 2016 while first 16 days of August, the availability was 65.74 %.
Sources say that out of a total of 6 units in Sasan, the breakdown (outage) of 4 units is unusual. The Reliance thermal plant is reported to be affected by many problems including coal supply hick-ups.
A Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) officer discloses that the energy demand of the state is the maximum during paddy season from June to September. The breakdown at Sasan comes at a crucial time when Punjab needs maximum energy for the agriculture sector. The state is being put to a huge financial loss.
Er.K.L. Sharma, director distribution PSPCL when contacted admitted, “There would be some loss which is yet to be calculated.” He said, “If Sasan plant supplies less power it will be paid less and no variable charges are payable to Reliance.” According to Sharma, “Punjab is already power surplus state but yes, Sasan power is cheaper than that of the state’s thermal plants.”