NTPC plans to add 20,976 mw power

Future plans include phasing out Talcher thermal in 5 years, commissioning Darlipali in March 2019

BHUBANESWAR: WITH an estimated investment of around Rs  5 crore per mega watt (MW), National Thermal Power Company Ltd (NTPCL) plans to add 20,976 mw power to its current installed capacity of 51,671 mw, in next seven years.

Regional Executive Director (RED) RK Srivastava said apart from the 20,976 mw power projects which are under construction, projects having power generating capacity of 4,995 mw are under tender process.
“While 17,525 mw is operational in western region, it is 14,453 mw in northern region, 11,080 mw in eastern and 8,325 mw in southern region while work is underway for 5,180 mw, 3,339 mw, 8,700 mw and 2,400 mw in the regions respectively,” he said.

As per the Centre’s policy, projects with more than 25 years in operation and less capacity will be gradually phased out, Srivastava said, adding Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) and Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS) are two NTPC projects for which the phasing out process has already been started.

“We have plans to set up 1320 mw super critical in two phases at TTPS after phasing out 460 mw in next five years. The TTPS was taken over by NTPC from Odisha State Electricity Board on June 3, 1995. The expansion will come up in the same area after modifying the existing township. The horizontal structures will be replaced by vertical ones to vacate place for the new plants,” the RED informed.About the expansion, TTPS general manager MK Singh said work for the 1,320 mw project is expected to start in the next few months if all statutory clearances are received from the State and Centre.

Meanwhile, the country’s largest power generator has planned to start commercial operation of its first 1,600 mw super thermal power project, which is under construction at an estimated investment of Rs 12,500 crore at Darlipali in Sundargarh district next year. “Its first unit having a capacity of 800 MW is expected to be commissioned in March 2019. The second unit would be commissioned in September, six months after the commissioning of the first one. While Odisha would get 50 per cent of the total power generated in the plant, the rest would be supplied to West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Sikkim,” said general manager Ram Chandra Patnaik.

While the thermal station has an annual raw material requirement of around 8 million tonne, Patnaik said, a majority of it would be met from Dulanga coal mine and the additional requirement sourced from Basundhara mine of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).

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