Emission control: Power plants set to miss deadline, again

With the December 31 deadline for installing emission reduction equipment in coal-based power plants with combined capacity of 14,000 megawatt (MW) looming, over 90% of the capacities have yet to do so, meaning thereby that unless the Central Electricity Authority relaxes the rule, they will require to shut down by the year-end. According to the data compiled by the CEA, among the non-compliant capacities, 6,100 MW belongs to state governments, 3,300 MW to NTPC and the remaining to private companies.

Among the power plants given the deadline to cut emission levels, 11 with total capacity of 12,800 MW are located in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.