FICCI Pitches for Holistic Solutions to Resolve Stressed Assets Cases in the Power Sector

Jun 13, 2018

Creating a new market design that will allow capacities to be matched with demand is critical: FICCI President Rashesh Shah

  

NEW DELHI, 13 June 2018: Stressed coal-based power generating assets, especially those of IPPs, will need a differentiated resolution path, primarily because the crisis is caused more by externalities beyond the control of sponsors, said FICCI President Mr. Rashesh Shah.   

 

Importantly, rules of the game had changed post investment viz.:

• Materialisation of coal supply was made subject to PPA, which was scarce to come by
• FSA was recalibrated to serve part capacities only

 

"While the two factors adversely impacted operational projects, they had negatively affected those under construction from the perspective of financial tie or of fund raising. Additionally, running power plants suffered further financial strain due to delay in both regulatory decision making on fuel related costs and timely payments by Discoms of power purchase bills," Mr. Shah said.  

 

He added that an additional concern is that out of 26 GW of coal-based power plants taken up, projects totalling 23 GW are stalled because of funding constraints. Majority also has fuel and PPA related issues.

 

"Holistic solutions to address the systemic issues will involve creating a new market design that will allow capacities, including the stranded ones, to be matched with demand projections via tradable instruments and risk management tools," said Mr. Shah. 

 

"A related approach would be to converge the proposed gas trading hub with power market operations to set up gas short term trades and spot purchases and enable gas-based power plants, which are also stranded, to serve peak and balancing loads and also provide supply on demand," he added.