NTPC's Darlipali unit to be commissioned in a year

Bhubaneswar:  Buoyed by generation of 567 million extra units of thermal power so far this fiscal, NTPC's Rs 13,000-crore Darlipali plant in Odisha's Sundargarh district is set to be commissioned within a year.

"The first unit of Darlipali plant with 800 MW capacity is expected to be commissioned by February 2018 and production will commence in August," Arvind Kumar, regional executive director of NTPC (East-II) told reporters here.

The second unit of the 1,600 MW power project, which will generate another 800 MW, is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2018, Kumar said, adding 50 per cent of the power generated by the state-of-the-art plant would by supplied to Odisha to meet its energy needs.

The Darlipali project is estimated to cost around Rs 13,000 crore with an investment of Rs 4,000 crore by the Maharatna PSU.

The region has shown a generation growth of 3.1 per cent.

"It has generated 18,645 MU till November 2016 compared to 18,078 MU in the previous year which is 567 MU more over the same period," Kumar said.

"Eastern region II has bagged the prestigious MoU Trophy for best performing region of NTPC for the second consecutive year - in 2014-15 and 2015-16 -- taking all the parameters into consideration," he said.

In the current fiscal, the region is in the second position among all the regions of NTPC in terms of Plant Load Factor (PLF) achievement till November 2016, Kumar said adding ER-II has achieved a PLF of 85.82 per cent up to November 2016.

Among NTPC's coal based stations, Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) is in the first position with 93.07 per cent PLF, while Talcher Super Thermal Power Station (TSTPS) Kaniha is in the fourth position with 85.53 per cent PLF, said Kumar.

NTPC, he said, plans to pump in over Rs 2,600 crore for developing three coal blocks in the state. Over Rs 600 crore is proposed to be invested in Dulanga coal block which is linked to Dariplalli super thermal project. Investment would also be made for development of two other blocks.

With ambitious plans for diversification into renewable energy, NTPC proposes to establish a 400 MW solar power project with an investment of around Rs 2,200 crore in Odisha.

The solar generation capacity is proposed to be raised subsequently, he added.

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NTPC proposes to substantially enhance power generation capacity to 75,000 MW by 2025 and up to one lakh MW by 2032, added Kumar.

NTPC's eastern region II has an installed capacity of 3,720 MW, which includes Talcher Thermal Power Station (460 MW), Talcher Super Thermal Power Station, Kaniha (3,000 MW), and Kaniha 10 MW solar plant) in Odisha and one unit at Bongaigaon (250 MW) in Assam.

The Maharatna PSU has an investment portfolio of Rs 38,189 crore on different projects in Odisha. The power company also proposes to raise production from 120 Mw to 370 Mw at its joint venture captive power plant at Rourkela steel unit involving a fresh investment of Rs 1,885 crore, he said.

Regarding CSR activities, Kumar said construction work is in progress for a medical college and hospital in Sundargarh district at a cost of Rs 417 crore.

Similarly, construction work of an ITI in Ganjam district at a cost of Rs 7.72 crore is at an advanced stage and it would be handed over by March, 2017.

An MoU has been signed with Odisha government for setting up a polytechnic at Darlipali at a cost of Rs 25 crore, he said.

NTPC has also completed electrification of 301 out of 531 target un-electrified villages in Odisha as on date and the work for the rest is progressing well, he added.