News Detail

<p><span style="font-size:9.0pt">The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, amended in 2015 had set a deadline of December 2017 to meet stricter norms for emissions of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury to cut pollutants at coal-based power plants by around 70%. The rules had has set limits to the volume of water usage by thermal power plants. There are 27 coal-fired power plants in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and UP. Emission from such plants is a major source of particulate matter, and Delhi suffers because of this. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:9pt">The emission standards can be met with less than 3% annual increase in electricity tariff for the next three years&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size:9pt">ministry is going ahead for changes in regulations to allow power generating firms to pass on the cost of retrofitting plants for meeting emission norms. The cost of retrofitting a power plant ranges from Rs 1-2 crore per megawatt while that for new coal-based plant would be around Rs. 5 crore per MW.As many as 295 coal-based power plants have got more time of two to four years to meet strict new environment norms which were to be implemented by December 2017. Environment Ministry had unveiled tougher norms relating to consumption of water, particulate matter, SO2, NOx and mercury for coal-based thermal power plants in December 2015.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:9pt">The said imposition and pass on of cost to consumers will rise conventional power prices generated from thermal plants. This would push more renewables projects in pipeline, as renewable power cost would be at par.</span></p>