Working On Policy To Revive Hydro-Power Sector, Says Piyush Goyal
Government is considering to make hydro power as renewable energy, Goyal says.
The power ministry is working on a comprehensive policy to revive the ailing hydro-power sector, which is drowning in spate of stalled and stressed projects.
“We are in dialogue with the stakeholders, banks, industries, power plants, our own PSUs (public sector units). After this discussion, we will come out with a viable mechanism to fast track these hydro-power projects,” Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters in New Delhi on Monday. He was speaking at an event to announce his ministries’ achievements in the three years of the Modi government.
Cabinet approval for the policy is expected in a month’s time, a senior government official told BloombergQuint.
The policy will revive stalled hydro projects to 11,639 megawatts by dispensing Rs 16,709 crore till 2024-25, a person familiar with the matter told wire agency PTI. Additionally, the government has decided to provide interest subvention of about 4 percent to developers to turn around hydro projects, the report added.
Goyal said the ministry is also in extensive discussions with NITI Ayog and is in the process of drawing up an energy policy for the next 25-30 years.
It will help India have the right energy mix. We will certainly be having an evolutionary policy which will keep changing with changing technologies in the world. We are trying to ensure that maximum amount of clean energy can be brought into use.Piyush Goyal, Power Minister
As many as 20 under-construction hydro power projects totaling 6,329 MW are either stalled or stressed in the country, and Rs 30,147.08 crore has already been spent on these, Goyal had said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha in March, according to an earlier PTI report.
Total hydro power generation capacity in the country was at 44,413.42 MW in respect of hydro project above 25 MW capacity as on February 25, 2017, the same report added.
India’s supply mix, which is predominantly thermal coal and rapidly adding renewable capacity, badly needs hydro capacity for smoother grid management, Debasish Mishra, partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, told BloombergQuint.
“It will be good if the government will announce a package for facilitating hydro power development. This will help India in the long run in reducing dependence on fossil fuel as committed by it in COP21,” he added.
When asked if the government plans to give a bailout package to the sector, Goyal neither confirmed nor denied but said: “We are considering to make hydro-power energy as a renewable energy which is accepted worldwide too.”
Also Read: India’s Power Demand Grew 6.5% In Last 3 Years, Piyush Goyal Says
The hydro projects below 25 MW capacity come under the purview of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy and categorised as small hydro projects.
These projects include 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower of NHPC Ltd, 500 MW Teesta VI of Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Ltd., 120 MW Rangit-IV of Jal Power Corp, 300 MW Panan of Himagiri Hydro Energy Pvt. Ltd., 850 MW Ratle of GVK Ratle Hydro Electric Project Pvt. Ltd., 100 MW Sorang of Himachal Sorang Power Ltd. and 960 MW Polavaram of Polavaram Project Authority.
“Three years back, Subansiri hydropower project was stuck in Assam and the case was on in NGT (National Green Tribunal). Teesta project attracted no investors and Maheswar project is closed since 15 years. We are having extensive talks with stakeholders to resolve this issue. Subansiri project on Assam-Arunachal border will be back on stream soon,” Goyal said.
The entire power sector has been passing through a struggle phase, Yogesh Daruka, partner (power and utilities), PwC, told BloombergQuint.
“To balance out solar and wind intermittency, hydropower has a key role to play. It is one of the cleanest sources of power. Hydropower projects are also multi-purpose for irrigational use, flood control, local area development. Hydropower needs a boost as wind and solar energy can barely work 6-8 hours per day,” he said.