By IANS
New Delhi : The Delhi government will decommission four coal-based power plants of the Indraprastha Thermal Power Station, including two of around 40 years old, but the loss would be compensated for by additional capacity from elsewhere, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said Monday.
After a cabinet meeting, Dikshit said that decommissioning of the four coal-based units would affect 2,100 employees working in the plants.
Two of the units had outlived their lives as they were in operation for about 40 years, while the union ministry of environment and forests had permitted continuation of the other two coal-based units till Dec 31, 2010.
"A consultant appointed by the department of power of the state government has concluded that the plants have become unviable for further operation and any investment for improvement of generation level of the plant will not be techno-economically feasible," Dikshit told reporters.
However, she said the units would be decommissioned after commissioning of 500 MW at the Badarpur Power Station and of around 750 MW from the gas-based power plant at Bamnauli in west Delhi. The four coal-based plants contribute less than 1,000 MW.
The chief minister said out of the 2,100 affected employees, about 700 may avail of the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).
"The scheme would remain open for three months. Necessary funding of approximately Rs.1.16 billion initially would be made available for the VRS. The funding would be increased if the scheme has larger response," she added.