By IANS,
Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government Wednesday gave the green signal to a joint venture company to set up a thermal power plant in West Bengal to meet its power demand, particularly during winters, an official said here.
“The cabinet gave its nod to the Himachal EMTA Power Limited (HEPL) to go ahead with the setting up of a coal pithead in West Bengal,” an official spokesperson said.
He said the plant, with an outlay of Rs.4,000 crore, would generate 660 MW of thermal power that would be beneficial to the state when its hydropower generation dips during winter.
Officials said the power generated by the plant will be transmitted to Himachal through the National Grid’s network during winter when the state faces a shortage of power.
During summer, when the state has excess power, the plant will sell its electricity to power deficient states, they said.
For starting the thermal plant, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in 2007 between state-run public sector undertaking Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited and Kolkata-based Eastern Mineral and Trading Agency (EMTA).
As per the agreement, in the joint venture company HEPL, both the partners have 50 percent equity share. The private partner will develop the mine as a captive fuel source for the plant, set up the plant and operate it.
Government officials said the exact location of the pithead is yet to be decided.
Hydroelectric power generation in the state increases in summer, while it comes down to just 20 percent during winter (from December to March) due to the freezing of glaciers and water bodies.
Himachal Pradesh has abundant water resources with a power potential of about 23,000 MW. About 6,480 MW have been harnessed till now by the central and state governments, private players and joint venture companies.
In the coming fiscal, the state government proposes to add more than 600 MW with the commissioning of Allain Duhangan, Malana II, Budhil, Chamera III and some other small projects.
Currently, 13 hydropower projects with a combined generation capacity of 5,809.1 MW are being executed in the state.