Power grid still shaky 2 months before Games

CWG Delhi power supply hinges on NTPC capacity, imported electricity, transmission upgrades, and grid reliability, amid BHEL delays, Loni substation issues, and peak demand near 6,000 MW across Delhi's venues and essential services.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games CWG are scheduled to be held at New Delhi from October 3 to October 14. As the countdown to the CWG begins, there is a flurry of activity to complete the arrangements in time.

The need for an uninterrupted and reliable power supply during the CWG is one of the top priorities of the organizers. The power situation looks somewhat positive at present, as Delhi moves to ensure power for the Games and the CWG are unlikely to face any major power shortfall. However, the government's plans to increase the region's power generation capacity to 7,000 MW before the CWG are unlikely to be implemented. So far, only about one-third, or 2,500 MW, of that target is expected to be met by October. The CWG will be run largely on imported power.

When preparations for the CWG began in 2008, the government had announced that there would be no power shortage in Delhi during the CWG and, instead, Delhi would have a surplus of power by the end of 2010. The government planned to meet the expected spike in demand by ramping up the power generation capacity of the region from the then-available 4,500 MW to 7,000 MW and by backing 100 MW IGCC development efforts nationwide. The peak demand projected during the CWG and later is about 6,000 MW. The average daily power demand in the Delhi region is about 4,200 MW.

Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is pushing to make at least 2,500 MW available before the CWG. According to a July 13 review meeting, the minister has asked all agencies to ensure there is no further slippage in the schedule of these projects. A senior official said: "The targets were set to push power projects in the name of the CWG. But you need to look at the good side of it, which is that there will be no shortages."

India's state-owned thermal power company NTPC Limited is the official power partner of the CWG and, with NTPC equipment spending, had announced plans to add about 1,500 MW of generation capacity before the CWG. The planned capacity augmentation included the addition of two 490-MW units at its existing 1,657-MW NTPC-Dadri power project in Uttar Pradesh, where UPPCL seeks more thermal generation to bolster supply, and the first 500-MW unit at the upcoming 1,500-MW power project at Jhajjar in Haryana.

NTPC recently completed commissioning of the second unit at Dadri, and the plant capacity is now 2,637 MW. The Jhajjar project is unlikely to be commissioned before the CWG, primarily because of delays in equipment supply by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited BHEL, even as massive equipment imports are being discussed nationwide. According to the original plan, all three units were scheduled to be ready before the CWG, but in the current scenario, chances of commissioning even the first unit before the CWG appear slim.

The biggest bottleneck to the evacuation of the 980 MW from NTPC-Dadri is the absence of an operation-ready substation. The critical Loni substation being installed by Delhi Transco Limited DTL, the state transmission utility for the National Capital Territory of Delhi, is still not ready even as India's grid faces a crisis that underscores the urgency. The entire transmission from the Dadri project depends on the Loni substation and its absence or failure would cause the Delhi power grid to collapse while trying to meet the high power demand during the CWG.

CWG officials said that although land for the substation has been finalized, part of it is disputed. They added, "The DTL is aware of the issue for the past three years and not much seems to have been done." Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta of Delhi has promised to resolve the issue before the CWG.

The delay in equipment supply by BHEL has affected other projects as well. The 1,500-MW Pragati-III Combined Cycle Power Plant at Bawana also was scheduled to be ready before the CWG but delays from BHEL, among other reasons, will not allow the project to be ready before the CWG. The 750-MW Pragati-II CCPP, also intended to power the Delhi region, is scheduled to be ready by 2011-12. The 330-MW Pragati I Combined Cycle Gas Turbine project is already in operation. All three projects are owned and operated by Pragati Power Corporation Limited. The Delhi region receives another 665 MW from the Indraprastha Power Generation Company Limited IPGCL. IPGCL has a 25 stake in the upcoming Jhajjar power project. NTPC's 720-MW Badarpur project also feeds the Delhi grid even as many plants run low on coal across India today, feeding concerns.

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