A committee formed by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has recommended significant operational changes for thermal power plants to address wear and tear concerns. According to reports from Business Standard, the committee proposed avoiding consecutive ramp-up and ramp-down of the same units and instead selecting groups of units for ramping operations. The committee recommended ramping down to minimum technical levels (MTL) and minimum load operations during solar hours and ramping up in the evening when solar generation declines. These recommendations aim to reduce operational and maintenance costs while extending plant lifespan. The committee also proposed introducing "ramping" and "stable-load" blocks to give thermal plants the time to gradually change and stabilise generation, reducing the cost of operation & maintenance (O&M) and extending their operational life.
The committee's analysis reveals substantial cost implications for grid operations. As reported by Business Standard, the potential from two-shifting could provide 27 GW of virtual storage capacity at a cost of approximately ₹30,200-37,750 crore, compared to equivalent battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity that would cost approximately ₹1,75,500 crore. The committee noted that the Merit Order Despatch (MOD) may need review to adopt these recommendations, which would reduce operational and maintenance costs and extend plant operational life. The two-shift operation provides a low-cost alternative for integrating renewables compared to BESS, with the committee estimating this could extend their operating life by 12-15 years.
India's hydropower sector faces significant challenges that are reinforcing coal's role as a flexible power source. According to Reuters, India logged its fifth-driest June since 1901 amid strong El Nino conditions, leading to searing heat and surging power consumption. This weather pattern has created growing demand for coal power while renewable energy sources remain somewhat curtailed by a lack of battery storage. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) contends that coal flexibilisation can help India create an additional 18GW to 34 GW of renewable energy space and potentially to reduce power sector emissions by up to 8.37%. As CSE director general Sunita Narain argued, "Enhancing the flexibility of the existing coal fleet can play a role in balancing the system and enabling greater integration of renewable energy. We are not talking about renewable vs coal here. We are talking about renewable and coal, and about how to integrate the two. The task is not to replace coal, but to displace it."
The committee has outlined a comprehensive implementation timeline for operational changes. As reported by Business Standard, the committee recommended enabling two-shift operations by 2030 for 151 old coal-based units totaling 34.5 GW that are aged 35 years or more. The CEA has initiated pilot studies at Tamil Nadu's 5x210 MW Tuticorin Thermal Power Station and recommended further studies at the 210 MW Wanakbori plant in Gujarat and the 2x67.5 MW Southern station in Kolkata. The committee emphasized that conducting pilot studies is indispensable for assessing wear and tear impacts, determining appropriate compensation mechanisms, and addressing operational concerns in a structured manner. The committee noted that conducting a pilot study is critical to enable implementation of two-shift operations on selected units within the next two years, in line with evolving grid requirements.
The committee has proposed significant changes to the existing regulatory framework. According to Business Standard, the committee recommended expanding the existing compensation mechanism of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to cover O&M costs of up to 5% along with compensation for auxiliary power, heat-rate and oil-consumption degradation. The committee also recommended exemption from flue gas desulphurisation units for old power plants, as they will operate to integrate green energy and stop generating during solar hours, thereby reducing daily average emissions of sulphur dioxide and other pollutants. The committee noted that required changes in the regulatory framework can be made to implement the recommendations. Additionally, the committee proposed that instead of using the thermal fleet for fine grid balancing, the same may be done from other sources, such as hydro power plants, gas power plants, pump storage plants, and battery energy storage system (BESS).
