Coal news and updates

The water scarcity crippling large parts of India has already cost coal power companies nearly seven billion units in lost electricity generation, with an estimated revenue loss of Rs 2,400 crore in the first five months of 2016, says Greenpeace India, the ecology group.

 

In a report issued on Thursday, it said water shortages had led to coal-power plant shutdowns in West Bengal, Karnataka and Maharashtra. NTPC, Adani Power, GMR,MahaGenco and Karnataka Power Corporation are among the companies affected. Most of the losses were between March and May, with plants unable to operate due to a lack of water for cooling.

 

Greenpeace India executive director Ravi Chellam said, “The coal power sector is already a water guzzler, consuming 4.6 billion cubic metres a year. Water, that could have met the most basic needs of 251 million Indians. The expansion of coal power will increase air pollution and deforestation; data show us it will also worsen the water crisis, posing serious financial risk to lenders and investors in these projects.”

 

The report, he said, was based on daily outage reports from the Central Electricity Authority and right to information replies from NTPC, the thermal power major. The findings were independently reviewed by equity analysts at research entity Equitorials.

 

Equity analyst Jai Sharda, founder of Equitorials, said: “It’s clear that water scarcity can have a real impact on the profitability of coal power projects. Project lenders and shareholders alike should look carefully at this. The sector cannot afford more stranded projects or non-performing assets.”

Source: Business Standard