Comments
Short-term power prices declined to Rs 3.59/kilowatt hour (kWh) in November compared to the last two months and increased marginally from Rs 3.55/kWh in November 2017.
The decline in the prices was on account of the ongoing winter season, leading to a low electricity demand, according to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).
In its report today, Ind-Ra highlights the trends in the power sector, with a focus on capacity addition, generation, transmission, merchant power, deficit, regulatory changes and recent rating actions.
During November 2018, the all-India energy requirements increased 4.9 per cent year-over-year (YoY) and the available energy increased 5.2 per cent YoY, leaving a power deficit of 0.5 per cent as against 0.7 per cent deficit in November 2017.
The power supply in November 2018 was met through higher hydro and thermal generation. Although generation from renewables also increased 16 per cent YoY on account of an increase in installed capacity, Ind-Ra estimates an overall decline in the combined plant load factor (PLF) of solar and wind capacities, leading to lower generation.
The total power generation increased 5.8 per cent YoY in November 2018.
Higher power demand and coal production led to thermal plant load factor (PLF) improving to 61.6 per centin November 2018 (November 2017: 59.5 per cent). While the central and state sector PLFs improved YoY in November 2018, PLFs for the private sector declined as the sector remained exposed to fuel supply availability risks.
Thermal generation during November 2018 was supported by an increase in monthly coal production by Coal India Limited (up 1.6 per cent YoY) to 52.1 metric ton (mt). Coal inventory at power stations improved 26.2 per cent YoY, driven by higher production and lower seasonal electricity demand.
Although coal production and total inventory levels improved, the number of power plants with sub-critical level of coal inventory increased to 23 in November 2018 (November 2017: 15), on account of the uneven distribution of coal across power stations and prioritised coal supply to central and state power stations.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.