NLC's power generation capacity to hit 18,031 Mw by 2025 end, says CMD

NLC CMD Sarat Kumar Acharya said they had passed on the benefits of GST by way of lower power tariffs

NLC India, the public sector undertaking formerly known as Neyveli Lignite Corporation, is planning to increase its power generation capacity to 18,031 Mw by the end of 2025, through both organic and inorganic routes. The company also said that it has passed on the benefits from the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) to the beneficiaries by reducing its power tariff.

The company has plans to add around 3,000 Mw of power generation capacity through the acquisition of power assets, said a senior management official of the company.

Taking into account the generation capacity of its subsidiaries, including NTPL's thermal power plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, and the NUPPL Thermal Power project in Ghatampur, Uttar Pradesh, the total power generating capacity of NLC India Ltd is expected to be at 21,011 Mw by 2025.

The TPS-II project will see a second expansion of 1,320 Mw in Phase-I and another 1,320-Mw expansion in Phase-II at Neyveli. A 4,000-Mw capacity thermal project will be set up in Odisha in two phases, along with solar- and wind-based power generation projects aggregating to 3,560 Mw.

Commenting on the company's GST compliance, NLC Chairman and Managing Director Sarat Kumar Acharya said, "I am pleased to share that the power tariff of the company has become more competitive through passing on of the benefits availed of by the company to the beneficiaries on account of the implementation of GST, in the form of reduction in the power tariff ranging from Rs 0.45 to Rs 0.75 per kilowatt per hour based on fuel consumption."

The company is currently implementing several power projects and its total installed capacity would increase to 4,831 Mw by 2020 taking into account the phasing out of a 600-Mw thermal power station. A new thermal power project of 1,000 Mw is under progress at Neyveli and it will replace the existing 600-Mw TPS-1. The 250-Mw extension of the Barsingsar TPS and Bithnok TPS were also under implementation, along with a solar power project of 130 Mw in Neyveli and another of 500 Mw in a different part of Tamil Nadu.

Acharya added that activities at the Barsingsar TPS and Bithnok TPS projects have been presently put on hold due to the communication received from Rajasthan discoms that they are not in a position to purchase power from these projects, despite the signing of a power purchase agreement. At the company's annual general meeting, Acharya told shareholders that the matter was being reviewed under the chairmanship of the Cabinet secretary and further activities would be taken up based on the outcome.

At present, the company is operating four lignite mines – three at Neyveli and one at Barsingsar in Rajasthan – with a total installed capacity of 30.60 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). This capacity is expected to increase to 39.15 MTPA by 2020.