The Hindu : Kerala News : KSEB studying options on thermal plant

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Sunday, Nov 18, 2007
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KSEB studying options on thermal plant

P. Venugopal

Signs MoU to set up joint venture company for coal mining in Orissa

1st option: set up plant in Orissa itself
2nd: bring coal to Kerala, set up plant here

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is considering the pros and cons of setting up a 1,000 MW coal-based thermal power project at Baitharani in Orissa, utilising the coal deposits allotted to it by the Union Ministry of Coal there.

Nearly 200 million tonnes of coal deposits are there in the field allotted. The field lies contiguous to those having comparable deposits of coal likewise allotted to the Orissa Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) and the Gujarat Power Corporation (GPC). The KSEB and these two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last week to set up a joint-venture company for coal prospecting and mining there.

The coal that will be available to the KSEB can keep a 1,000-MW power plant running for 30 to 35 years, says Electricity Minister A.K. Balan. The MoU covers only coal prospecting and mining. Only after detailed techno-economic evaluation will the KSEB decide whether to go it alone or join hands with some other power utility/utilities in setting up a pit-head power plant to the use the coal deposits.

The KSEB won the coal allocation after putting in a lot of pressure at the Centre. The State’s argument was that although it had much unutilised hydroelectric potential, it could not win environmental clearance for any of its project proposals since the coming of the forest conservation Act, 1980.

Kerala argued that it had to forgo its needs for the sake of the whole nation, forest conservation being a national (and even global) compulsion. The State contended that in the name of natural justice, it should be compensated for the “opportunity cost” it was being compelled to suffer. Mr. Balan undertook several missions to New Delhi to press the State’s case.

Kerala’s power needs are set to increase by nearly 10 per cent annually soon because of the developments taking place in knowledge-based industries and their ripple effects. Power cuts of the type witnessed in the late 1990s are a certainty soon if the State does not plan for new thermal projects .

Kerala has also the option of bringing the Baitharani coal to the State, instead of setting up a pit-head power plant in Orissa itself and getting the power transmitted all the way to the south across Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Many factors, including the logistics of bringing the coal here, need to be evaluated for this. “We are considering both options,” Mr. Balan said.

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