By IANS,
Raipur : A 250 mega watts (MW) unit of the 500 MW coal-fired power plant, being built in Chhattisgarh by the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), will begin functioning April 20, an official said here Friday.
“We are all set to begin the synchronization of the first unit of 250 MW based at industrial city Bhilai from April 20 while synchronization of second and final unit of remaining 250 MW will begin in 3-4 months from now,” Roy Thomas, chief manager of the company, told IANS.
He, however, said that though synchronization of the first unit would begin, it would take at least three months to begin commercial production.
The plant, a joint venture between two public sector majors and christened NTPC-SAIL Power Company Ltd (NSPCL), has an investment of about Rs.26 billion and is located some 30 km west of capital Raipur.
The NSPCL plant will mainly meet the growing power supply demand of SAIL’s flagship unit Bhilai Steel Plant that has achieved the best ever annual production of 5.268 million tonne (MT) hot metal, 5.054 MT crude steel and 4.427 MT saleable steel in fiscal 2007-08.
Officials of the Chhattisgarh government say they are in talks with the NSPCL for purchasing 30 percent of power from the newly built plant.