Eyeing opportunities in the international markets for power plants, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is looking for joint ventures in the overseas markets. After Sri Lanka, NTPC is now exploring for possible joint venture partners in the South African market. The first overseas JV agreement is already signed with Ceylon Electricity Board, Sri Lanka for setting up a 500 mw (2X250 mw) coal-based power station with an investment of $700 million.
Talking to media after inaugurating the full load operations of unit three of Simhadri Super thermal power project, NTPC, Sushil Kumar Shinde, union minister of power, government of India, said that NTPC has chalked out plans to go global. “As part of its overseas plans, NTPC would be concentrating on coal, gas and hydel-based plants in South African market,” he said.
NTPC has entered coal mining business and has been allocated five coal blocks with production potential of 47 million tonnes per annum by 2017. Besides, it has adopted JV route for capacity addition and has 18 JVs and five subsidiaries to strengthen its business. It currently has 14,088 mw under construction and nearly 40,000 mw under various stages of bidding. Going forward, NTPC plans to become a 1,28,000 mw company by 2032.
Later, to a query on the shortfall of demand and supply of power, Shinde affirmed that there is no shortage and there are plans to bring transmission and distribution losses to 15% soon from 26% currently by bringing IT-based regulatory system. He also said that his ministry has decided to give top priority to issues of jobs and rehabilitation of the displaced persons in power projects who gave away their land for setting operations.
Shinde said that the energy deficit in the country has come down to 3-5% during the year as against 18-19% of the past and generation has also gone up by 7-8%. He also said that the government will not take any more land from the farmers and will take it only if essential and it will also give them equal share in the benefits as well as jobs and land, among others.
Simhadri Super Thermal power project of NTPC reached another milestone with unit 3 of stage II (2 x 500 mw) getting ready for commercial operation. The first coastal-based power project, located at Paravada, 40 Simhadri Stage I has an installed capacity of 1,000 mw with 2x 500 mw units.
The first 500 mw unit of Simhadri Stage I was synchronised in a record time of 39 months from the date of main plant order. The Simhadri project is claimed to be the most modern project in India with the state-of-the-art control and instrumentation systems. The generation capacity of NTPC Simhadri has gone up to 1,500 mw with the commissioning of the 500 mw unit-III.
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