Independent agency to determine power purchase rate from NTPC

While TTPS provides its entire generation to state grid, super thermal unit supplies 518 Mw to Odisha from its 6 X 500 Mw complex

The state government has instructed power trading company Gridco Ltd to engage an independent agency to find out power purchase rate from NTPC, which has demanded higher rate citing rising cost of generation due to use of imported coal.

“It is requested that Gridco may engage one independent organisation to study the matter comprehensively and suggest way of means to come out of this impasse,” the state Energy department wrote to the power trading arm.

NTPC has two power plants in the state, a super thermal power plant of 3,000 Mw and Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) having 460 Mw capacity. It needs about 60,000 tonne coal per day to run the units. While TTPS provides its entire generation to state grid, the super thermal unit supplies 518 Mw to the state from its 6 X 500 Mw complex. Odisha also gets around 1,100 Mw from different power stations of NTPC situated out of the state, as per its entitlement.

The largest power generating company of India has been demanding hike in its power tariff on the plea of use of costlier imported coal to run its all power plants because of the inability of state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) to meet its fuel need.  

The request from NTPC comes at a time, when the Centre has decided not to implement the coal pooling price formula to determine power tariff, as states like Odisha and West Bengal opposed the move, saying it is an injustice for coal-rich states to pay the price of imported coal in form of higher power tariff.

“The coal price pooling has been kept in abeyance for the time being,” said a letter from Union power ministry recently, addressed to all state governments.

As the move has been stalled, NTPC has taken up the issue at its own level as it faces coal supply problems for its plants. Recently, the power producer had to curb production at its super thermal power plant in Talcher as CIL subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) restricted transportation for four days following violence by the local villagers last week.

The company has already hinted that its total coal import for the current fiscal could touch 16 million tonne, roughly 9 per cent of its total need estimated at 178 million tonne for 2013-14. It imported 5 per cent of its requirement in last fiscal.

Gridco officials said, the price of power procured from  NTPC is already high and amid poor recovery from power distributing utilities it would be difficult to accept the tariff suggested by NTPC.