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Electricity from hydro power plants will form a smaller portion of the energy mix in the country during the summer and monsoon months in 2015, compared to the previous year.
Between April and September, the target for hydro power generation is 77,830 million units, or about 13.7 per cent of the total power generation in the country, according to official data.
In the same period last year, hydro power contributed about 15 per cent of the total power generation, at 80,896.50 million units.
The shortfall this year is expected to be met by coal-fired thermal power plants.
The target for coal-fired plants in the April-September period is 4,27,336 million units or about 75.5 per cent of the total generation.
In the same period last year, coal-based plants made up for about 73.3 per cent of the total power generation.
The target, according to the Central Electricity Authority, envisages nearly a 10 per cent increase over last year’s actual generation, resulting in increased pressure to supply coal to power plants.
However, coal production has increased significantly.
Piyush Goyal, Minister for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, had said last week that in the first 20 days of April, Coal India’s production has gone up 9 per cent and on an average 210 rakes of coal are being supplied.
Coal India, on an average, had required 194 rakes a day for transporting the fuel in 2014-15.
While, the official numbers for April are yet to be released, a 9 per cent increase would mean Coal India’s production would be around 41 million tonnes during the month.
While reservoir levels were around the same levels as last year on April 8, coal stocks in power plants have improved.
On April 27, only 12 out of 100 coal-based plants had less than seven days’ supply or critical levels of coal stocks. Of these, four were new units and the rest were using coal as required.
During the peak summer months last year, coal stocks in nearly half of the thermal plants across the country had stocks at critical levels.
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