Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday requested the Centre to address the concerns related to closure of Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) and take steps for early execution of the Stage-III project.
In a letter to the Union Power Minister R.K. Singh, Patnaik said that the power ministry should direct the NTPC to go ahead with the TTPS expansion project stage -III (1320 MW).
He said though the TTPS Stage-III expansion project has already got the approval from the state government in February last year, NTPC is yet to start the execution.
The TTPS is one of the oldest thermal power stations of the country commissioned in 1968. The Stage-I (240 MW) and Stage-II (220MW) of the plant were set up by Odisha government in 1968 and 1982. Later, NTPC acquired it in 1995.
In 2010, NTPC proposed to expand the capacity of the station and install 2 units of 660 MW each. The state-designated agency, GRIDCO Ltd. promptly signed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NTPC in December 2010 for 660 MW, informed the Chief Minister.
He said the closure of TTPS from 31st March 2021 will have severe direct and indirect impact on thousands of families and the local economy.
The Chief Minister urged the Union Minister to direct NTPC to address the concerns related to the closure of TTPS.