Union Budget 2015-16: Govt plans 5 more ultra mega power prjects

The budget provides for setting up five more ultra mega power projects (UMPP), entailing investments of around Rs.1 lakh crore, finance minister Arun Jaitley said in his first full-year Budget for 2015-16 today.

UMPPs are coal-based thermal power projects with a 4,000 MW generation capacity.

The minister, however, did not announce the states where these projects are proposed to be set up.

One such project is likely to be set up in power-starved state of Bihar. The proposed plant in Bihar may be fed from a mine either in Jharkhand or Odisha.

Power minister Piyush Goyal had said in November that a sufficient number of coal blocks will be allotted for the purpose.

Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is the nodal agency for UMPPs in the country.

So far, four UMPPs have been awarded, of which Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Tilaiya (Jharkhand) have been bagged by Reliance Power, while Tata Power operates the Mundra UMPP in Gujarat.

Jaitley also said that the second unit of Kudankulam nuclear power station will be commissioned in 2015-16.

Emphasizing the government's focus on clean energy, Jaitley announced that the Clean Energy Cess will be doubled to Rs200 per tonne of coal from Rs.100 currently. He said the government was committed to make the development process as green as possible.

Against a target of generating an additional 88,537 MW from conventional sources during the 12th Plan, the country has already achieved additional output of 49,390.1 MW, which is 55.8 per cent up to 30 November.

During the period from April to October 2014, there has been a growth of 15.4 per cent in coal-fired power generation over the corresponding period last year.