In a surprise move, the Uttar Pradesh government has put on hold a proposal of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group to set up new units totalling 1,980 MW capacity at its Rosa thermal power project in Shahjehanpur citing lack of enough coal that can be allotted to the plant at the moment. The company had proposed an extension plan for the project, adding three new units of 660 MW each. At present, Rosa has a 1,200 MW generation capacity, though the state is not buying all the power presumably due to the poor financial condition of its utilities.
The state energy task force meeting headed by chief secretary Jawed Usmani decided against granting an extension citing the state?s acute coal shortage and difficulties in getting coal linkages even for sanctioned projects.
?Due to the acute shortage of coal, the government had to seek Assembly approval for allowing new projects in the pipeline to import coal so that their projects don?t get delayed,? said an official, requesting anonymity.
?In this scenario, where we know that coal is a major stumbling block, it is not prudent to allow the setting up of new projects,? the official said.
Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation chairman and managing director Avanish Awasthi, however, said the task force had considered Rosa project expansion, but deferred it due to unavailability of coal. ?We have sought coal availability from the central government for forthcoming projects.?
A Reliance Power official who did not wish to be identified said: ?For doubling Rosa capacity, various options for fuel supply are being explored, keeping in mind the competitiveness of tariffs.?
Even as the Rosa expansion was turned down, the government cleared a proposal to import coal for some plants ? a decision benefitting 10 power projects including Bajaj Hindusthan’s 1,980 MW Lalitpur project and another 1,980 MW project in Bargad approved during the Mayawati regime. While that decision was always curious given the costs of importing coal and transporting it to UP, Wednesday?s meeting with the Prime Minister saw Yadav getting an assurance that the Centre would allot the state domestic coal linkages for all units coming up before 2014. Whether this means the Rosa extension will be considered again is not clear.
Reliance Power, which operates four 300-MW units at Rosa, had proposed to add three units of 660 MW each. It had sought additional 350 hectares adjoining its present site, besides 50 cusecs of water, 8.5 lakh tones of coal from the Chendipara coal block in Orissa and a transformer network to evacuate the power from the project once it was ready.
Projects which have already been allotted coal linkages from the Chendipara coal block include the 1,320 MW Obra C project, the 1320 MW Jawaharpur project in Etah district and the 1,320 MW Dopaha project in Sonebhadra. However, according to industry insiders, it is not only the coal shortage that has prompted the government to take this decision, but also the centrally-imposed ban on new power projects through the MoU route after January 5, 2011. ?Even if there was adequate coal, the state government cannot allow Reliance Power to put up new units as that would be against GoI guidelines prohibiting the MoU route. The only way forward for new units is the competitive bidding process,? said Shailendra Dubey, secretary-general of All India Power Engineers Federation and a former chief engineer of the UPPCL.