Chennai: Discoms in India could save up to Rs 9,000 crore (USD 1.23 billion) each year by prioritising coal power despatch based on efficiency rather than the prevailing system which prioritises based on variable costs, according to a study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
This can provide much needed respite to public discoms, which last reported a loss of Rs 61,360 crore (USD 8.4 billion) in FY19, it said.
“The findings are based on the performance of 194 GW of Indian coal assets (out of a total capacity of nearly 205 GW) during the 30 months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the study found that prioritising efficiency-based despatch during this time could have improved coal fleet efficiency by 1.9 per cent, resulting in annual coal savings of 42 million tonnes (MT) and a commensurate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” it added.
The CEEW study also recommends considering 30 GW of India’s coal-based capacity for accelerated decommissioning.