Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, October 29
An ultra super critical power plant having a generation capacity of 2,400 MW will replace Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant in Ropar.
Initially, two units (210 MW each) of the thermal plant will be shut and replaced with one unit of ultra super critical thermal power unit of 800 MW. All six units will gradually be replaced with three units of ultra super critical thermal plant.
Official sources say the move is aimed at providing power to consumers at a low cost. Because of the huge size of these power plants, the cost of the electricity would be lower due to the economy of scale. The cost of setting up each unit is estimated at around Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000 crore. The cost of generation could be as low as Rs 2 per unit.
The sources have told The Tribune that the six units of the Ropar thermal plant and four of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in Bathinda had to be retired as they are old and generation cost is too high.
The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has already been intimated that there will be no generation from the Bathinda plant this year. A cabinet sub-committee, headed by Health minister Brahm Mohindra, is examining the matter for retiring of retiring the two thermal plants. Once the committee gives its report, the state’s own power generation capacity will reduce by 860 MW as it would take a minimum four years to build one unit of the ultra super critical plant (800 MW).
“After getting all clearances, we will appoint a consultant for setting up the mega power plant,” confirmed a senior officer.
The state will have to rely heavily on buying power from outside sources. The PSEB Engineers Association has warned against the state’s increased reliance on outside sources. The association, through its president Sanjeev Sood, has already demanded that the government issue a white paper on how retiring own generation capacities and buying power would be more beneficial.
“Who is answerable for Rs 700 crore that was spent on the renovation of the Bathinda plant in 2014, which will have to be returned to lenders. When the government was setting up private thermal plants at Rajpura, Goindwal Sahib and Talwandi Sabo, we had warned it over high cost of generation, but to no avail. The tariff offered by producers outside Punjab is low now, but it could rise substantially. The government should desist from taking irrational decisions like shutting down generation and instead buying power,” the association has told the government.
