Last Updated: 1 Dec 2024
Plant's Power generation capacity is at 77% under AAP Govt[1]
-- Plant ran at only 35% of its capacity under private operator
Historic First in the country where a private thermal plant has been acquired by the state sector
-- Punjab Govt bought 540 MegaWatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib (Punjab) at a cost of Rs 1080 crore i.e. 2cr per MW[2] on 01 Jan 2024
-- 11 Feb 2024: Launched as Sri Guru Amar Dass thermal power plant[3]
In the past the State/Center governments used to sell their assets to the favorite individuals at ‘throw away’ prices[2:1]
Punjab Govt SAVES ₹350 crore with new thermal plant[1:1]
¶ Punjab Govt Benefits[2:2]
Named Sri Guru Amardass Thermal Power plant after the 3rd Sikh Guru, earlier GVK Thermal plant
Benefits as Punjab has started its own coal mine
Improved capacity usage
- Plant Load Factor (PLF) was only 34% till jan 2024, went up to 89% in July 2024[4]
Other Benefits
- Surplus land of the project can be utilised in public interest by installing SuperCritical units under the state sector[5]
- Costly Power Purchase agreement stands cancelled
- Ongoing litigations[5:1]: The ongoing litigations with implications of 1000s crores get avoided
- Under the state sector more employment opportunities will be available for Punjab youth[5:2]
¶ Purchase Comparison[2:3]
Cheapest purchase (2 cr/MW) made of any other power plants by any state/private company
| State | Power Plants | MegaWatt | Cost | per MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chhattisgarh | Korba West | 600 MW | Rs 1804 crore | 3.0066 cr/MW |
| Madhya Pradesh | Jhabua Power | 600 MW | Rs 1910 crore | 3.18 cr/MW |
| Chhattisgarh | Lanco Amarkantak | 600 MW | Rs 1818 crore | 3.03 cr/MW |
¶ Historical Situation: 2016-2023[2:4]
High Power Cost
Ironically the GVK thermal plant was paid Rs 1718 crore fixed cost without even getting power
- Punjab government had purchased 11165 million units of power by paying Rs 7902 crore
- Average per unit of Rs 7.08 per unit was paid to the power plants, now estimated per unit cost will now be Rs 4.50 per unit
- Power Purchase Agreement which was highly skewed in favour of the private player
¶ GVK Thermal plant Details[6]
- Located on 1,100 acres and has two units of 270 MW each in Goindwal Sahib (Punjab)
- Being a new plant, its power generation efficiency is high
- Cost of electricity production to reduce from Rs 6.50 per unit to Rs 4.60 per unit
¶ Private firm couldn't run it, went bankrupt[6:1]
- Due to no proper coal linkage, the plant ran at maximum of only 45% of its capacity
- Punjab Govt with its own coal mine in Pichwara, Jharkhand which was operationalised in Dec 2022 is confident to be able to run it successful
References:
https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=176880 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.punjabnewsexpress.com/punjab/news/punjab-cm-bhagwant-mann-and-aap-supremo-arvind-kejriwal-dedicates-sri-guru-amar-dass-thermal-power-plant-to-masses-239868 ↩︎
https://epaper.dainiksaveratimes.in/3900280/Punjab-main/The-Savera#page/5/2 ↩︎
https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=176888&headline=Acquiring-GVK-a-progressive-step-for-state-power-sector:-PSEB-Engineer's-Association ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/pspcl-sole-bidder-state-set-to-purchase-private-power-plant-in-goindwal-sahib-521911 ↩︎ ↩︎
