NTPC, BHEL Gear Up to Synchronize 500-Megawatt Farakka Unit

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--After missing a series of deadlines, state-run power major NTPC Limited (BSE:532555) (New Delhi, India) and heavy-equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) (BSE:500103) (New Delhi) have begun startup activities to synchronize the 500-megawatt (MW) Phase-II expansion unit with the grid at the Farakka super thermal power station by the end of this month.

According to NTPC sources, all pre-commissioning activities such as boiler light up, completion of steam blowing, placing the turbine generator on barring gear and turbine rolling have been wrapped up, and the unit is expected to achieve full load by February 28. However, commercial generation from the unit is likely to be delayed due to the ongoing fuel crisis at the Farakka plant.

It has been estimated that about 300 tonnes of coal per day will be required to run the new unit at 70% plant-load-factor (PLF). The plant, located at Nabarun in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, meets its fuel need from the linked mines in the Rajmahal Coalfield area of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) (Ranchi, Jharkhand), as well as imports from overseas coal mines. The water requirement for the plant is met from the Farakka Feeder Canal.

The Farakka Power Station, which was commissioned in January 1986, has an installed generation capacity of 1,600 MW via two 300-MW units and two 500-MW units, developed in the early 1990s under the Phase II expansion of the project. The ongoing Phase III expansion envisages installation of a 500-MW steam turbine unit with the associated balance-of-plant components to enhance the capacity of the plant to 2,100 MW.

The cost of the expansion has been estimated to be $567 million. The coal-fired plant supplies power to the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim, Assam and Tripura.

With an installed capacity of 33,194 MW, NTPC is the largest power generating firm in the country. Presently, NTPC generates power primarily from coal and gas. The company is diversifying into hydropower, coal mining and power equipment manufacturing.

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