BackMumbai power cuts: Tata Power wants Trombay unit to run on coal
The firm says it wants political consensus on the issue even as Shiv Sena and NGOs continue to oppose the plan over environmental concerns
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Mumbai: Tata Power Co. Ltd on Wednesday cited Tuesday’s power outages in Mumbai to push for converting an oil-based generating unit to run on coal, adding it wants political consensus before making such a change.
On Tuesday, a 500 megawatts (MW) unit at Tata Power’s plant at Trombay on the city’s outskirts developed a snag, compounded by the fact that another 250MW unit was already down for maintenance.
Since Tata Power could not bring in power from outside thanks to an overloaded power corridor, it reduced supplies, increased generation at its hydro power units and activated a 500 MW oil-based unit, which was on standby. It is this unit that Tata Power now wants converted to run on coal.
“As there are constraints on bringing outside power into Mumbai to maintain the stability of Mumbai’s power system, it is necessary to use all generation assets optimally," Tata Power’s managing director Anil Sardana said at a media briefing. “And considering the issues around the availability of gas and price of power produced from liquid fuel, the only feasible option is to convert Unit 6 to a coal-fired unit."
“We already have environmental clearance in place for such conversion, but we want political consensus before we start work as we don’t want to impose us on the people of the city," he said.
Power generated using liquid fuel such as furnace oil, diesel and naphtha costs ₹ 12-14 per unit while coal-based power costs ₹ 2-4 per unit.
However, the conversion is opposed by Shiv Sena and many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to environment protection. They claim the conversion will further pollute already heavily polluted eastern suburbs like Chembur, Trombay and Mahul, as these areas are already home to two refineries, a fertilizer plant and Tata Power’s thermal power station.
In fact, the Shiv Sena has challenged environmental nod to such conversion before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Shiv Sena leader in the state assembly Subhash Desai said, “Let NGT decide upon the issue; we won’t withdrew our petition before the NGT as we feel, allowing such conversion is like playing with the health of lakhs of people living in those areas of city."
Debi Goenka, environmental activist and trustee of the Conservation Action Trust said, “In mid-eighties, Tata Power had given an affidavit in the Bombay high court saying that Unit 6 will be run either on oil or gas and no coal will be used and only after that, they were given permission to start work on Unit 6. And now, Tata Power wants to go back on its word for short-term commercial gains, which is not in the interest of city."
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra cabinet took serious note of the power failure and directed principal secretary (energy) to conduct an inquiry within seven days. The principal secretary will also fix responsibility for the prolonged power outage and suggest short-term and long-term measures to avoid similar situations.
O.P. Gupta, general manager of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), which buys power from Tata Power and distributes it in the island city, said, “BEST won’t pay the higher cost of power generated through Unit 6. Running the generation station efficiently is the responsibility of Tata Power as generator and in the case of situations like yesterday’s (Tuesday), as a transmission licensee, to keep transmission corridor congestion-free to bring power into the city from outside is also their responsibility."
“If indeed Tata Power sends higher bill, we will approach the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) who will decide who has to bear the cost of higher power," he replied, while answering a question.
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