Electricity tariffs across the country are expected to increase by at least 50 to 60 paise per unit in the wake of implementation of tighter environment protection norms as sought by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). To adhere to these norms, the public and private power generators will have to install additional equipment, leading to increase in the fixed and variable cost that will ultimately have to be passed on to the consumers.
MoEF norms were to come into effect from January 1, 2017, but they were deferred till January 1, 2019, as the generators had to complete installation of new applications.
As per the MoEF norms, the emission of particulate matter from the coal-based power plants has to be reduced from 100 units to 20 units while Sulfur dioxide (SO2) has to be reduced from 200 to 100 parts per million (PPM).
Power industry sources hinted that the generators to implement this will require Rs 50 lakh to 80 lakh per megawatt, This will result in a rise in the fixed cost by 25 to 35 paise per unit. Additionally, the variable cost would have to be hiked from the current 8 paise per unit to 12 paise.
Moreover, it will be mandatory for generators to use coal washed by collieries or by the generator themselves. ''Due to the washed coal the weight of coal will reduce and it will also lead to cut in transportation cost. However, due to higher washing cost, there will be a rise in variable cost by 5 to 10 paise per unit,'' sources said.
Meanwhile, Energy expert Ashok Pendse observed, "This additional cost will have to be borne for the cause of environment protection."
As per the new MoEF norms, the emission of particulate matter from the coal-based power plants has to be reduced from 100 units to 20 units while sulfur dioxide (SO2) has to be reduced from 200 to 100 PPM