Expansion of Ramagundam plant on the anvil

TS will get 85 per cent of the 1,600 MW power generated from the two new units of NTPC Ltd. The date for the laying the foundation-stone will be finalised once the Union government announces the coal linkage.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited is all set to start two new units of 800 MW each at its 2,600 MW Ramagundam plant.

This is in fulfilment of the Union government’s promise to provide 4,000 MW of power from NTPC Ltd. to the newly-formed Telangana State. Accordingly, work on the first phase of the eighth and ninth units will be taken up soon in Ramagundam. The authorities have identified the site for the proposed 1,600 MW project and taken up levelling works on a war-footing.

At present, the requirement of the Ramagundam unit is of the order of 38,000 tonnes of coal per day. The Singareni Collieries Company Limited is the major supplier with 32,000 tonnes per day and the rest is sourced from other agencies.

Coal linkage

The Ramagundam unit is awaiting the coal linkage, estimated at 22,000 tonnes per day, from the Singareni Collieries for its two new power stations. The NTPC Ltd. management is planning to utilise modern equipment such as turbine, boilers, generators etc, which has already been made available at BHEL Ltd. in Hyderabad.

The date for the laying the foundation-stone will be finalised once the Union government announces the coal linkage. The authorities are planning to schedule the ceremony for the second week of November. They are confident of commissioning the new units in three years.

Interestingly, 85 per cent of power generated through these stations will be given to Telangana. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, Union Minister for Power Piyush Goyal, NTPC C&MD Arup Roy Chaudhary will grace their presence at the ceremony.