Plant upgrades can help domestic power generation companies save nearly ₹3,500 crore a year, according to Andrew DeLeone, Managing Director of GE Power India Ltd.

The efficiency of a thermal power plant is defined as the ratio of the total energy produced as a per cent of heat energy generated by burning coal.

A ₹100 crore per unit (of 210 MW) investment can improve the steam turbine heat ratio by 15 per cent and bring about an overall plant efficiency upgrade of 5-7 per cent, said DeLeone. “Effectively, you are bringing a sub-critical plant to super-critical levels.”

The payback period is three-four years, said DeLeone. “If you have an older unit, let’s say 20-25 years, and you want to continue running it, you will have to replace critical components anyway or go in for an incremental upgrade. The incremental cost of doing a big efficiency upgrade is not much vis-a-vis a replacement of parts,” he said.

He cited the 210 MW Ukai unit in Gujarat, whose efficiency upgrade cost ₹100 crore. “In Gujarat we are seeing a saving of ₹50 crore a year on coal consumption because the plant is 6-8 per cent more efficient. And they have a turbine heat rate which is 15 per cent lower than it was,” he said.

According to DeLeone, power plants nationwide with a cumulative installed capacity of 15-20 GW could see savings of ₹3,500 crore a year in coal cost alone.

State generation companies such as Maharashtra State Power Generation Company, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and Damodar Valley Corporation have an opportunity to improve their efficiencies by 5-10 per cent, said DeLeone. “Most of the best cases are State electricity boards and some private power plants.”

“The average efficiency of power plants in India is claimed to be 33 per cent, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is lower,” he observed. “There are newer plants that have efficiency above 40 per cent, but the 15-20 GW older plants have an efficiency averaging below 30 per cent.”

“The world average efficiency is around 38 per cent,” he added.

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