India Tries to Balance Coal Supply with Power Hunger

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). At a time when India’s coal rich states are demanding cheaper electricity and other incentives from government in the form of tariff-based competitive bidding for power from new power plants to be reserved for them, the Central Electrical Authority (CEA) is pegging the coal requirements of power utilities at 549 million tons through the end of the current eleventh five-year plan.

CEA has also projected 32.3 million tons of coal to be imported for the same period. The CEA predicts that the total installed capacity of coal-fired power stations in the country could be 119,016 MW by the end of 2011-2012.

In a report the CEA said that India will require 340.2 million tons of coal in 2007-2008, 378.2 million tons in 2008-2009, 410.3 million tons in 2009-2010, 469 million tons in 2010-2011 and 549 million tons in 2011-2012. Over the same period the installed capacity of coal fired power stations will rise from 75,870 MW in 2007-2008 to 119,016 in 2011-2012. The coal shortage during 2011-2012 has been projected at 66.9 million tons for indigenous coal. Coal shortage equivalent to imported coal is expected to be 40.2 million tons which will be offset to a certain extent by imports from private power companies. Against these CEA statistics India’s ministry of mines that coal imports in March 2007 have already risen 12% to 46.62 million tons. India is projected to maintain a growth rate at around 9% per annum – providing the power supply is available.

The states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, with combined coal reserves of 148,004 million tons, demand cheaper electrical power and offsets against transport costs to the non-coal states. The states without coal reserves such as Gujurat, Haryana and Punjab oppose the demands maintaining that they will hurt the country’s economy where the demand for more power is universal. In Punjab alone the state government has plans to add 3,500 MW to the existing capacity of 6,200 MW. Peak demand is 9,000 MW and the aim is to be self sufficient and capable of ensuring 24 hour uninterrupted power supply. Demand in the state is estimated at 11,000 MW by 2012. This is typical of the power projections of most states.

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