Commercial production at the newly commissioned 600 MW unit of Telangana State Generation Corporation (TSGenco) here resumed on Sunday after week-long suspension of generation for checking up systems.
This is the second phase project of Kakatiya Thermal Power Plant (KTPP) — earlier phase was 500 MW — which is the first capacity addition in the power sector after formation of Telangana State.
It was inaugurated by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on January 5. The unit operated for 14 days and generated about 100 million units before it was shut down to verify systems based on plant load, said the corporation chairman and managing director D. Prabhakar Rao.
While water is drawn from river Godavari, coal is supplied from Tadicherla mines by Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). The foundation for this second phase project was laid in February 2009 by the then Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy. An estimated Rs. 4,334 crore was spent on this 600 MW project and nearly 800 acres of land was acquired in Chelpur and surrounding villages for the purpose.
Even though construction of this 600MW project began in January 2009, the works gained pace only after formation of separate Telangana. Boiler light up of the project took place on May 31, 2015. On October 22, trial run of the project took place. But the inauguration of the project was delayed due to the Warangal by-elections.
Synchronisation of the project began on December 29 and the full capacity of 600 MW was attained on December 31. With this, the total installed capacity of TSGenco had gone up to 5,045.26 MW, which includes 2,882.50 MW of thermal power, 2,161.76 MW of hydel power and 1 MW of solar power.
Expansion plans
The TRS government is in the process of adding about 13,960 MW of power generation capacity by 2018-19, which includes 4,000 MW thermal plant by NTPC, 4,000 MW Yadadri thermal plant of TS Genco, and 1,800 MW of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd.
The government contemplates major expansion of power project capacity in the State and expects to commission 1,200 MW thermal power project being developed by Singareni Collieries Company Ltd at Jaipur in Adilabad district in next three months.
