CHENNAI: Six months after its inauguration, the 800MW-capacity, Rs 10,000-crore North Chennai Super Critical Thermal Power Station (NCTPS Stage III) has so far generated only 680 Million Units (MU) of electricity.
An official from the Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation (TNPGC) said that if the plant was running at its full capacity, it could have generated around 6,000 MUs during this period. “However, due to technical issues, the plant has achieved only 11% of its potential output,” he said.
While most thermal plants do not operate to their full capacity due to various factors, officials had planned to achieve at least 50% of the installed capacity at the thermal plant in the first few months.
NCTPS Stage III, which is TN’s first coal-based supercritical thermal power station, was commissioned on March 7, 2024. The official also said it has been difficult to use coal as fuel to operate the facility as the plant does not have a coal handling yard, conveyor belt and other associated infrastructure to handle coal.
“Since we find it difficult to use coal, we use oil. The cost of production of power is Rs 6 per unit when using coal, but it goes up to Rs 13 per unit with oil,” the official said.
‘Hope to reach 60% to 70% plant’s total power capacity’
“In the last six months, oil has been the main fuel, and we have used coal only 20%,” the official added.
He also pointed out that an ash dyke, a pond-like structure necessary for coal-based power plants to store ash, is also not in place. “This is another reason to use oil. Although we are using some coal, without an ash dyke, we are disposing of the ash through lorries which is also a tough task,” he said.
Several technical issues, including problems with the boiler and its supporting machinery, too, are still unresolved. It may take another year before the plant can operate at its intended capacity, he said.
Another senior TNPGC official told TNIE, “We proposed to build the ash dyke and coal yard for Rs 50 crore in April. We are waiting for the state government’s approval. We hope to produce 60% to 70% of power from the plant’s total capacity before next summer.”
He recalled the project’s journey and highlighted that the state government, led by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, approved the project in 2010. “However, due to various factors, the work was delayed,” he said. The plant was targeted for commissioning in 2019, but technical hurdles and Covid-19 caused further delays.