July 25, 2008

NTPC to take over Patratu power plant in Jharkhand

Union power ministry has laced with sweeteners its offer to let National Thermal Power Corporation take over Jharkhand State Electricity Board's coal fired power station at Patratu for turning it around.

Mr Anil Razdan union power secretary has informed the Jharkhand chief secretary that NTPC will also set up state of the art generators and provide power to villages in the plant's vicinity besides taking up distribution in Ranchi.

According to the proposal, NTPC will use the land available at the power plant to set up units of 660 MW to 800 MW capacity, while at the same time renovate the existing 110 MW generators to improve efficiency and ensure they are good for the next 10 years or so. The new generators will be less polluting than the existing machinery and will run longer before needing maintenance shut downs.

NTPC is also willing to take over the distribution license for Ranchi. Not just that, it also promises to supply electricity in villages within a radius of 10 kilometer of the Patratu plant through the centre's Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana.

NTPC has a remarkable track record of turning around old power plants doddering on the brink of blowing their fuse permanently. It has turned around and expanded units such as Unchahar and Tanda in UP, Talcher in Orissa and Badarpur in Delhi. It is also working on the Kanti plant in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.