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Maharashtra all set to upgrade old power sets

Move will help increase generation capacity at lower costs than setting up new projects

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To boost electricity generation and increase the efficiencies of its thermal power units, the state power generation utility is planning to modernise its old sets. This will help add capacity at lower costs than setting up new projects and generate more power from lesser quantity of coal.

A large number of the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited's (MahaGenco) thermal power sets are old and antiquated. Of the 29 units in service, 11 are over 30 years old and 6 are aged above 25 years. All these units have an installed capacity of 210 MW each.

Of the MahaGenco's 7,980 MW installed coal-based capacity, almost half (3,570 MW) is in these antiquated units, which have lower generation efficiencies. The modernisation project, which will add capacity and expand efficiency in generation at a cost lower than that of setting up a new unit, has been launched at the Koradi power plant. It will later be expanded to four more units, namely one set each at Nashik, Bhusawal, Chandrapur and Parli, based on this experience.

"We have undertaken the renovation and modernisation of one 210 MW unit at Koradi. Here, the vital parts of the boiler, turbine and generator and the coal handling system will be changed and modified to increase the operational efficiency. However, the foundation and the boiler's body will remain as it is. This will increase the installed capacity of this unit to around 228 to 230 MW from the present 210 MW. Since these units are old, they have a plant load factor of only 50 to 52% and this renovation will bring it up to 80 to 85%. This means we can generate more power with lesser coal," said a senior MahaGenco official.

The Koradi project was launched last year and the actual work has begun this month. It is expected to be completed by March 2016. The state will get funds from the World Bank and infuse the remaining amount as equity for the project, the official stated.

The official added that this modernisation cost just around Rs2 crore per MW as compared to the costs of setting up a new coal-based thermal power set at around Rs6 to 7 crore per MW.

"We are undertaking work on 3,230 MW new capacity, including three 660 MW sets at Koradi and two 1,000 MW units at Chandrapur. The Koradi units are supercritical sets, which means they have less variable costs. This additional capacity, which will be on line by March 2016, will enable us to shut down old units for renovation and modernisation," the official said.

MahaGenco has 7,980MW of its 11,237MW installed conventional energy capacity in coal, with the remaining comprising of gas (672MW) and hydro power (2,585MW). The average weighted average cost of power generated by the utility is about Rs3.28 per unit, with that of thermal being around Rs3.70 per unit.

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