Facing Power Challenge India Looks at China’s Standardized Generator Model

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) -- Perhaps stung by a somewhat skeptical industry reaction at the beginning of September when announcing the target of adding 78,000 MW to India’s power capacity in five years, officials in country’s power ministry and planning commission have quickly rolled out regulations and initiatives designed to make the target attainable.

The section of the national planning commission responsible for overseeing the implementation of targets in the sector is reported to be looking at the Chinese model of standardizing generator set deign in order to assist manufactures and project specifiers to finalize designs an move them into the implementation phase. The feeling is that techniques that allowed China to add 100,000 MW in a year could put a fire under Indian projects, which are falling behind schedule. Chinese and other foreign power equipment manufacturing companies are currently forming ventures with Indian power companies.

B.K. Chaturvedi, of the planning commission, told The Indian Express that all contracts for projects planned for the 11th Plan (2007 -2012) should be awarded by March 2008. He also said that currently progress had been made on 50,000 MW of projects. He said that to ensure quick implementation, the commission has recommended standardized set designs for 500 MW units and the separate states had accepted this.

To complete this move agencies involved in the implementation process are to streamline qualification requirements and allow more companies to bid for equipment supply contracts. He added that while welcoming more suppliers the commission was against the state owned NTPC (National Thermal Power Company) entering the equipment supply sector. For news item see September 5, 2007 – India’s Power Sector Challenged by 78,500 MW Additional Power by 2012.

In order to secure the bidding process and regulations surrounding the second round of bidding for the remaining 7 ultra mega (4,000 MW) power projects (UMPPS) the law ministry has asked the power ministry to look into the rules of bidding. New rules will include the cancellation of a bid immediately a partner moves out of a consortium. Winning bidders must have a dedicated coal mine to feed the power project and will not be allowed to divert coal from the mine to any other project. Land allocated to projects by the government cannot be sold off in portions by the winning bidder.

Reliance Energy has already won the Sasan UMPP project in Madhya Pradesh and Tata Power has the Mundhra project in Gujurat. The state’s Power Finance Corporation is looking at total capital expenditure of $31.5 billion if all the nine projects, estimated at $3.5 billion each, are initiated. The private sector is expected to invest about half the total amount required.

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