Coal based power plants capacity utilisation to rise on strong demand, says NTPC CMD

Capacity utilisation of coal based power plants in the country will increase due to strong demand in the coming days, Gurdeep Singh, the chairman and managing director of state-run power giant NTPC, has said.

New Delhi: Capacity utilisation of coal-based power plants in the country will increase due to strong demand in the coming days, Gurdeep Singh, the chairman and managing director of state-run power giant NTPC, has said.

In the Annual Report for 2021-22 of NTPC, Singh stated in a message to shareholders that "it is pertinent to mention that the period of low dispatch of power from our stations and 'supply overhang' in the country seems to be over. Due to the strong demand, it is expected that the PLF (plant load factor) of coal-based stations may further increase."

He informed that even though the company's coal-based project pipeline has become slim, all the remaining projects are either pithead or situated on the mine. "With the commissioning of these projects, our generation share shall see a further rise. As we march ahead in our capacity addition programme, we are planning to achieve 75 GW capacity by August 15, 2023," he added.

He also stated that NTPC believes that meeting the long-term energy requirement of the country with reliability and affordability is the prime objective (of the company). He opined that considering the changes happening across the globe, while giving utmost thrust for adding renewable capacity, need has been felt for adding some coal-based capacity as it will provide resilience to the sector for meeting the increasing demand.

"Accordingly, your Company is considering a few expansion projects at the existing pit-head plant locations. In this direction, we have already finalized the tender for (2X660 MW) capacity at Talcher (TTPS) as a replacement project," he stated. He has also stated that discussions are underway for adding nuclear capacity as well.

The NTPC has formed NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL) under which it plans to consolidate almost all its green assets. Singh has told the shareholders that the company has got requisite approvals from the Government for transferring its RE (renewable energy) assets to the NGEL. "We are in the process of identifying strategic investors for NGEL and plan to complete the process in the current fiscal," he added.

The NTPC has planned to achieve 60 GW of renewable capacity by 2032. "Apart from the 2 GW capacity which is already commissioned, over 4 GW of capacity is in the construction stage and 5 GW capacity is in the tendering stage," Singh has stated. (PTI)