Mumbai: With electricity demand in Maharashtra rising sharply, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday told the Legislative Assembly that the state has drawn up an extensive long-term plan to ensure uninterrupted power supply, with Mahavitaran signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 43,870 MW over the next five years. He said Maharashtra's total installed power generation capacity is projected to reach 78,591 MW by 2031-32.
The Chief Minister also acknowledged that the supply of inferior-quality coal had affected electricity generation at some state-run thermal plants and assured the House that future tenders would include stronger safeguards to prevent errant suppliers from securing contracts.
Fadnavis was replying to a question raised by BJP MLA Hemant Ogale regarding power shortages caused by the shutdown of generation units due to technical reasons. During the discussion, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that Maharashtra was facing electricity shortages because of rising demand, outages at generating stations and poor-quality coal supplied to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) plants.
Responding to the concerns, Fadnavis said electricity demand in the state had increased by 19.5 per cent compared to last year owing to rapid industrialisation in several regions and an extended summer that drove up consumption.
"Despite the steep rise in demand, Maharashtra ensured uninterrupted power supply through advance planning and strategic procurement," he said.
Highlighting the benefits of long-term planning, the Chief Minister said Maharashtra was able to procure power from the open market at substantially lower rates this year. During earlier peak demand periods, the state had to purchase electricity at nearly Rs 11 per unit, but this summer it managed to secure power at around Rs 4.60 per unit because of long-term agreements signed in advance.
Fadnavis said Mahavitaran had prepared a resource adequacy plan to cater to future requirements. Under this framework, PPAs for 43,870 MW have already been signed and additional capacity will be brought on stream in phases over the coming years.
Noting that Maharashtra's power demand had risen by nearly 4,000 MW in recent years, Fadnavis said electricity generation, currently around 32,000 MW, is expected to touch 45,000 MW next year, underlining the need for sustained investments in generation and transmission infrastructure.
Addressing concerns over coal quality, the Chief Minister admitted that substandard fuel had adversely impacted generation at some thermal power stations. He said the state government had initiated discussions with the Centre to improve coal procurement and supply mechanisms and had sought changes in the coal sampling process so that fuel quality is properly assessed before dispatch.
He said shortcomings noticed in earlier contracts would be rectified and fresh procurement procedures would incorporate stricter provisions to ensure that suppliers of poor-quality coal do not take undue advantage of the system.
Fadnavis also informed the House that technical faults affecting several generating units had been addressed and the units had been repaired and restored to operation. To improve distribution efficiency, feeder separation would be prioritised in substations experiencing excessive load.
Outlining Maharashtra's long-term generation strategy, he said the government was examining proposals to set up two 800-MW supercritical thermal power units at Koradi and Chandrapur. Preliminary work for a supercritical project at Chandrapur has already begun.
He said the state intends to gradually replace ageing subcritical power plants with more efficient and environmentally advanced supercritical technology.
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