Cancellation of coal block allocations as ordered by the Supreme Court very recently, has come as a blessing in disguise for the power-starved Telangana State, as it is set to save one year from the duration required for erection of new plants by BHEL in the newly-formed State.
The Telangana government on Saturday entered into an agreement with the public sector giant for construction of new thermal power plants of 6,000 MW capacities in the State in the next three years.
Of this, at least 1,080 MW will be operational within 24 months, as against the standard 36 months required for erection of a power plant. Highly placed officials from the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TSGENCO), however, are optimistic that erection of units totalling 3,380 MW will be completed in the next two years.
“Due to cancellation of coal block allocations by the Supreme Court, material meant for other projects is lying idle with us. We will use them for four units of 270 MW in Manuguru, thus saving one year from the project duration,” Chairman and MD of BHEL B. Prasad Rao said.
The decision to entrust BHEL with installation of 1,080 MW at Manuguru was announced 10 days ago, when the Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao evinced interest in entrusting the rest of the projects too to BHEL.
The latest agreement for 6,000 MW on EPC basis was sealed between the Chairman and MD of the TSGENCO D. Prabhakar Rao and Mr. Prasad Rao, in the presence of the Chief Minister.
Imported coalAbout 4,000 MW of the agreed capacity will be set up in Manuguru of Khammam district, and the rest is tentatively planned for Ramagundam in Karimnagar district. Land for all the projects will be provided by the Telangana government. Imported coal will be used to light up all the units.
BHEL has the necessary expertise and already executed thermal power projects in Bhupalapally, Singareni Collieries and Kothagudem, the performance of which was stated to be above the national average of the plant load factor.
