BACKGROUND

Power is one of the most critical pillars of infrastructure, playing a decisive role in the economic growth, industrial development, and overall welfare of nations. For India, the availability of reliable, affordable, and efficient electricity is central to sustaining economic momentum and supporting its rapidly growing energy demand.

India’s power sector is among the most diversified globally, with generation sources spanning conventional fuels such as coal, lignite, natural gas, hydro, and nuclear, alongside rapidly expanding non-conventional sources including solar, wind, and waste-to-energy. Despite the accelerated deployment of renewable energy, electricity demand in India continues to rise steadily due to industrial expansion, urbanisation, digitalisation, and electrification of end-use sectors. Meeting this growing demand requires not only capacity addition but also significant improvements in efficiency and performance of existing power assets, particularly thermal power plants that continue to form the backbone of grid stability.

Over the years, the Indian power sector has witnessed continuous technological advancements aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, reliability, and productivity. The performance of thermal power plants is most effectively assessed through Net Heat Rate, which reflects the amount of thermal energy consumed to generate one unit of electricity. Heat rate is the inverse of plant efficiency; therefore, a lower heat rate directly indicates superior operational performance.

Net heat rate remains one of the most critical parameters influencing the cost of generation, fuel consumption, and operating margins of thermal power plants. Even marginal improvements in heat rate can result in substantial reductions in fuel costs, emissions intensity, and overall generation expenses, thereby strengthening the financial and environmental performance of power producers.

Traditionally, heat rate improvement has been driven through capital-intensive interventions such as variable frequency drives, intelligent soot blowing systems, advanced control instrumentation, and automated drainage systems. These technological upgrades, when complemented by focused operation and maintenance practices—such as cycle optimisation, leakage control, performance tuning, and disciplined operating regimes—have enabled measurable efficiency gains across the sector. However, in today’s evolving power system, plants are also required to operate under flexible, part-load, and cycling conditions, making heat rate optimisation more complex and more critical than ever.

Over the past decades, national and state-level policies, regulatory frameworks, and institutional mechanisms have been introduced to benchmark, monitor, and improve thermal power plant performance. These interventions have contributed to noticeable improvements in operational efficiency. Yet, the transition towards a cleaner, more flexible power system demands renewed focus on advanced efficiency strategies, digital solutions, data-driven performance monitoring, and best-in-class operational practices.

With this backdrop, Mission Energy Foundation is pleased to host the 8th Annual Exclusive Residential Conference & National Efficiency Awards on “Reducing Net Heat Rate”, scheduled for 12–13 March 2026 at Aralea Beach Resort, Morjim, Goa.

The conference is designed as a focused platform for knowledge exchange, peer learning, and solution-oriented discussions for India’s thermal power sector. It aims to bring together senior decision-makers, plant leadership, technology providers, and subject-matter experts to deliberate on practical strategies, emerging technologies, and real-world case studies for reducing net heat rate while maintaining reliability, flexibility, and compliance with evolving regulatory and market requirements.

By combining in-depth technical discussions with recognition through the National Efficiency Awards, the conference seeks to promote operational excellence, encourage innovation, and support the thermal power industry in aligning with global efficiency benchmarks and India’s broader energy transition objectives.