The 1,200 MW coal-based Udupi Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL), located at Yellur village in Udupi district, has stopped generating power since Thursday afternoon.
Sources in the company told The Hindu on Friday that both the 600 MW power units of UPCL stopped functioning at 3 p.m. on Thursday. They said the company had stopped generating power as the State government had not made payments of nearly Rs. 2,000 crore for the power provided to the Electricity Supply Companies (Escoms). It had become difficult for the company to pay for the coal imported from Indonesia. Once payments are made by the government, the company can start generating power. A consignment containing 90,000 tonnes of imported coal is waiting at the outer anchorage of the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), sources in the company said.
When it was pointed out that Minister for Energy D.K. Shivakumar had told a news agency on Thursday that all the bills had been paid to UPCL and the State has even given Rs. 300 crore in advance, sources in the company declined to comment on it.
The coal-based thermal power plant of UPCL, which was established in the district despite opposition from local people, has been generating power for the last two years.
