Delhi to shut down coal power plants

India's capital city, Delhi, will shut all its coal-fired power plants over the next four years and replace them with plants that use environment-friendly natural gas as fuel. The shift to cleaner power will result in higher power bills for end- users, but Delhi’s chief secretary Rakesh Mehta is hopeful that citizens will pay the bill.

“Consumers would be willing to pay more for cleaner atmosphere,” he told the Hindustan Times. “It is weighing cheap and dirty fuel power versus health of the citizens. In the longer run, health will surely weight out costs.”

According to Delhi’s power secretary Rajendra Kumar, the per unit cost of power from a new gas-based power plant would be around Rs 3.50 per unit as against the average cost of Rs 2 per unit from a coal-based plant. However, “it is too early to comment on the exact cost of power for the end user,” Kumar said.

Officials say the biggest challenge ahead lies in making the coal-based Badarpur plant, operated by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd, switch to gas. The plant accounts for as much as 57% of the capital’s power-driven air pollution.