New Delhi: The government has set a target of generating close to 1,100 billion units of electricity during the current financial year as the coal supply at thermal power stations has eased. This target is over seven per cent of the previous fiscal's target of 1,023 billion units (BUs). The actual generation numbers for the fiscal gone were not available.
According to the latest report by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the government has set a target of producing 1,098 BUs of power during 2015-16. The central sector plants will contribute 411 BUs and state sector 401 BUs to the total targeted capacity. Another report by CEA said that the fuel supply at thermal power plants has improved. Only 9 projects had less than seven days of coal supply at their disposal, of which 4 projects had stockpiles for less than four days, on April 9.
This is an improvement from last month (March 9), when 12 stations had less than seven days of fossil fuel. Of the total 1,098 BUs that the government aims to generate in the current fiscal, 965 BUs will come from thermal power and the remaining from hydel plants (133 BUs). As many as seven hydro projects, which are likely to come up during the current financial year, will contribute 2,766 million units of electricity to the total generation.
The peak power deficit, or the shortfall in electricity supply when the demand is maximum, stood at 2.8 per cent in February this year. Megawatt (MW) refers to generation capacity while million units indicates the amount of power or energy produced. One MW can produce 1,000 units of electricity in one hour.
