Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Power Ministry has estimated that the expansion required in the country’s thermal capacity to meet the growing demand for electricity will entail an expenditure of a minimum of Rs 6.67 lakh crore by 2031-32, Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik informed the Parliament.
In order to meet the estimated electricity demand by the year 2031-32, generation planning studies have been carried out by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), he told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
As per the study results, it is envisaged that to meet the base load requirement of the country in 2032, the required coal and lignite-based installed capacity would be 283 GW against the present installed capacity of 217.5 GW.
“Considering this, the Centre proposes to set up an additional minimum 80 GW coal-based capacity by 2031-32,” Naik said. The estimated capital cost for setting up new coal-based thermal capacity as considered in the National Electricity Plan is Rs 8.34 crore per MW (1,000 MW=1GW). The cost has been worked out at the 2021-22 price level.
To reduce the dependence on coal-based thermal power plants, the Government has planned to augment non-fossil fuel-based installed electricity generation capacity.
