BHUBANESWAR: The state government has approved the proposal of the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) for Stage-III expansion of the Ib Thermal Power Station (ITPS) at Banharpali in Jharsuguda district. The ratification for installation of two more units (five and six) of 660 MW capacity each comes at a time when the state government is in the process of disinvesting 49 per cent stake from the company currently having thermal generating capacity of 1,740 MW.
OPGC sources said the decision was communicated by the Energy department few days back. The state government had suggested OPGC to change the configuration of the Stage-III project from 2 X 660 MW to 2 X 800 MW in view of the availability of coal and lesser externalities due to use of super critical technology in power generation, they added.
However, OPGC informed that expansion of the project will be delayed as fresh statutory clearances will be required from competent authorities of the Central government. Besides, the two coal blocks have been allotted to Stage-II and Stage-III projects (4 X 660 MW) keeping in mind the coal needs of the power plant for 40 years, it added.Meanwhile, expansion of the fifth and sixth units of ITPS has been considerably delayed due to uncertainties in disinvestment.
Two coal blocks - Manoharpur and dip side of Manoharpur - were allotted to the state-owned Odisha Coal and Power Limited (OCPL) on August 31, 2015. These coal blocks are situated in the IB Valley area of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd in Sundargarh district.OCPL, a subsidiary of OPGC, has extractable reserve of 636 million tonne (MT) and its peak rated capacity is 16 MT per year, which is sufficient to meet the requirement of 4 x 660 MW units for more than 40 years.
“OPGC has been showing positive results after the state government bought 49 pc stakes of AES from the company. Though its financial results were not so impressive under AES management, the company has earned a profit of about `1,000 crore in the last fiscal. If this trend continues, there would be no need to go for disinvestment,” a senior executive of OPGC said.