NTPC Tandwa plant’s 2nd unit trial set for Feb

The first 660MW unit of the North Karanpura Super Critical Thermal Power Plant of the NTPC at Tandwa produced 3,712 million units from March 2023, when it was commissioned, till December 2023. The second unit will be commissioned by March this year and the third one in November.

The plant will supply power to states like Bihar, Odisha, Sikkim, West Bengal besides Jharkhand, according to the power purchase agreement (PPA) signed among the management of the NTPC and the respective states. Speaking to TOI, the deputy general manager of the power plant, Dhiraj Kumar Gupta, said 2024 is a crucial year for the NTPC as the two remaining units will start production. A trial run for the second unit will be conducted in February, he said.

The power plant uses advanced technology, consuming 60% less water as compared to conventional power generation stations. The plant needs around 10,000 tonnes of coal daily to operate a single unit. Moreover, nearly 3,200 tonnes of ash are produced as waste daily while producing one unit of power. The byproduct is used to make fly ash bricks by the industries manufacturing cement, Gupta added.

At present, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand receive electricity supply from the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) through the Chandwa grid. Jharkhand gets 26.73% of its share from the power generated by the single unit, Odisha 22%, Bihar 44.65%, West Bengal 6.45% and Sikkim 0.16%. NTPC will have 297MW power left with it after power is supplied to the states from all three units, sources said.

The foundation of the plant was laid on 6 March 1999 by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee but work did not start at the site as Coal India Limited objected to the location that possesses a reserve of six billion tonnes of coal. Finally, the plant received the Union government’s nod to proceed with the construction work starting in August 2014. Officials said the commissioning was delayed once again during the Covid-19 pandemic