Amid a worsening power shortage in the country, several state power regulators including those in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra have either invoked or will soon use a contingency clause to step up power supplies by allowing pass-through of higher fuel costs. Other states too may announce similar plans in the coming days as their peak power shortages tend to rise. Besides, a few states including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are signing new short-term power purchase agreements with private power units to tide over the crisis. Central to the plan is allowing pass-through of fuel costs by imported coal-based units, including some under the insolvency resolution process. The Centre also asked power producers owned by it namely NTPC and DVC and even state-sector generating stations to resort to a fuel mix with 10% imported coal – as against of 4% now – to boost generation. These state-run gencos may also be given the facility to recoup at least part of the inflated fuel costs via tariff increases, sources said.
The moves come as power shortage in the country recently crossed the threshold of 100 million units (MU) a day and is threatening to rise to more precarious levels. Out of 173 pit head/non pit-head power plants in the country, 81 were operating with coal stocks of less than 7 days, on April 18. This means their fuel stocks are barely 25% of the normative requirement.
