Thermal power companies, which produce three-quarters of the country's electricity, account for some 80% of India's industrial emissions of sulphur- and nitrous-oxides in India, which cause lung diseases, acid rain and smog.
More than half of India's coal-fired power plants ordered to retrofit equipment to curb air pollution are set to miss the deadline, private industry estimates and a Reuters analysis show, as millions in the country wake up to toxic air each day.
Thermal power companies, which produce three-quarters of the country's electricity, account for some 80% of India's industrial emissions of sulphur- and nitrous-oxides in India, which cause lung diseases, acid rain and smog.
India, currently struggling with some of the worst air pollution levels on earth, has previously already extended its December 2017 deadline for its utilities to meet emissions standards, after extensive lobbying by the Association of Power Producers (APP).
In a letter to the government dated May 24 and reviewed by Reuters, APP's Director General Ashok Khurana said the installation of Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) units - which cuts emissions of sulphur dioxides - take about 27-30 months and warned that banks were withholding funding for these units due to stress levels in the power sector, among other factors.
India has a phased plan for plants to comply with the emission norms, with some plants having until end-December 2019, while others have up to the end of 2022 to comply. A total of 440 coal-fired units that produce 166.5 gigawatts (GW) have to comply with the regulations by December 2022.
A Reuters analysis of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data indicates 267 units, which produce 103.4 GW of power, have to be compliant between December 2019 and February 2022, which is 27 months from now.
The data shows that of these, 224 units, which produce 84.8 GW of power, have not yet awarded contracts for installing FGD units, meaning that based on the industry's own estimates of installation timelines, they are set to be non-compliant.
That means at least 51% of all coal-fired units which have the emission targets could fail to comply with the deadlines.
