NPAs in the making ?
During past few days , media is full of
reports about the Central Government’s “ Bold Decision “ to set up 10 Nuclear
Power Plants ( totalling 7,000 MW ), at a cost of Rs 70,000 crores
As reported in Hindustan Times / DNA , following “
arguments “ , make this , a “ bold decision “ :
·
To pump in Rs 70,000 cr of Capital Expenditure into the economy at a
time when private investment continues to flag
·
To revive India’s moribund domestic nuclear industry
·
To help India ramp up its renewable base-load power capacity
·
The sheer amount of money involved gives India’s domestic nuclear firms,
to scale up their designs and potentially break the 1,000 MW barrier
·
To leverage the domestic nuclear industry’s ability to manufacture
reactor components that were third cheaper than the global norm and make India
, a global hub of nuclear reactor technology and manufacturing
On face of it , all of the above make for eminent
sense !
Until you ask the following questions :
·
How come , no nuclear power plants have come up anywhere in the World
for past several decades ?
·
Why are old Nuclear Power Plants closing down everywhere ?
·
If the power produced with these 10 plants is going to cost the
consumers , anywhere between Rs 5 – 7 / kwh
, how can it compete with the Solar Power at Rs
2 / kwh ? ( just wait this to happen by May
2018 ! )
·
Apparently , it will cost Rs 10 cr / MW
for setting up a Nuclear Plant as against Rs 5
cr / MW to set up a Solar power plant . What can justify this ?
·
Most likely , it will take TEN YEARS to construct / commission these Nuclear
plants as against , ONE
YEAR to
put up SAME CAPACITY , Solar plants ! ( - which , incidentally , is
THE TARGET for 2017-18 )
·
If the “ economics “ are so bad , which bank will finance these plants ?
– knowing fully well that these Rs 70,000 cr will
become NPA , even before the plants go on stream !
Bankers
are already losing sleep over that the Rs 5
lakh*crore that they have advanced to some 60
+ Coal based power plants which are “ under construction “ ( meaning , “
stuck “ ! ) and not likely to ever get completed / commissioned , because no
DISCOM is ready to buy their “ expensive “ power at Rs 4 / kwh !
·
What about the “ Safety concerns / fears “ of citizens residing near
these proposed Nuclear Plants ? Have we forgotten Kudankulum / Jaitapur ?
In case , you need to confirm that this is not a “ bold “ but a “ bad
“ decision , do read :
Industry Meltdown: Is the
Era of Nuclear Power Coming to an End?
Dear Shri Piyush
Goyalji ,
I urge you to take a second look at this decision
21 May 2017
www.hemenparekh.in
/ blogs
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