The Transmission Corporation of Telangana Ltd (TS-Transco) has asked the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to defer the second phase of Telangana Super Thermal Power Project at NTPC’s existing power plant at Ramagundam.
The NTPC is establishing the first phase 1,600 MW (2×800 MW), which Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao inspected on Saturday, at its 2,600 MW Ramagundam plant. The second phase for 2,400 MW (3 x 800 MW) has now been asked to be kept on hold. In a statement issued here on Saturday, TS-Transco officials stated that the State Government would take an “appropriate decision at the right time” depending on the requirement of power in Telangana and the cost of energy from the NTPC's new project being set up under the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. The statement further made it clear that the cost of energy from the project would be comparably high since the Government of India had allotted coal from Madakini-B coal block in Odisha to the plant. “As the coal has to be transported for 950 km., the distance between the coal block and the power plant, the cost of power generation would be high,” the officials said. Further, in addition to the cost of energy at delivery point of NTPC power, sub-stations of power grid, Telangana has to incur additional transmission charges and losses of about 45 paise per unit. In view of such high cost of power generation by NTPC plants, Telangana has deferred the decision on the second phase of TSTPP. TS-Transco said many States are not taking costly power from NTPC plants in view of the high power generation costs. Citing an example, two units of NTPC Kudgi (2,400 mw) in Karnataka were under reserve shut down from April 13 and May 13, respectively, due to their high power generation cost. In the recent bids called by the Government of India for supply of energy for medium term, three years, the rate obtained was ₹4.41 per unit, including the nominal fixed cost of one-paisa per unit for supply of energy. “The rate is very less compared to the rates of new NTPC plants – ₹6.69 per unit for energy from Kudigi and ₹6.10 per unit for energy from Vallur. The additional energy requirement for Kaleshwaram project would be met by new plants being established by Power Generation Corporation of Telangana Ltd (TS-Genco) at Bhadradri (1,080 mw), Damaracherla (4,000 mw), renewable power (1,400 mw) and market purchases.
