The Hindu : National : Bhilai thermal project unit-I commissioned

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Monday, Apr 21, 2008
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Bhilai thermal project unit-I commissioned

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI: Giving some relief to the power-starved northern States, the 250 MW first unit of the Bhilai expansion thermal power project of NTPC-SAIL Power Company Pvt. Ltd. (NSPCL) — a joint venture of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)—was commissioned on Sunday in Bhilai by Minister of State for Power and Commerce, Jairam Ramesh.

Mr. Ramesh also announced that the 59.8 MW of the first phase of the Valuthur Combined cycle gas extension project in Tamil Nadu would be commissioned on April 26. The project was being executed by the Tamil Nadu State Electricity Board.

Mr. Ramesh said the second 250 MW unit of the expansion project would go on stream by September this year. BHEL was the boiler and turbine supplier for the project. He said the target for capacity addition for April 2008 was 310 MW, which would be met as a result of the Bhilai first unit of 250 MW being commissioned and then by the Tamil Nadu project.

He said that the generating capacity to be commissioned in May 2008 would be 760 MW, comprising Sagardigih of the West Bengal Power Development Corporation (300 MW) on May 20; Mejia unit 6 of the Damodar Valley Corporation (250 MW) on May 21; and unit 5 of the Amarkantak thermal power station of the Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company (210 MW) on May 31. The target for May 2008 was originally set at 335 MW.

The target for addition of power generating capacity in 2008-09 was around 11,000 MW. He admitted that the target was very stiff and a number of projects were facing delays in commissioning. But each project was being intensively monitored. He said that the NTPC and the CITU had arrived at an agreement to resume work at the Kahalgaon (3x500 MW) project site in Bihar after almost eight-nine months. The NTPC was keen on taking up a 4,000 MW power project at Lara in Chhattisgarh for which it had a coal mine linkage and requested the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister for support.

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