NTPC-SAIL to sell 50MW to Chhattisgarh SEB

The Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board and the NTPC-SAIL Power Company Pvt Ltd. (NSPCL)""a joint venture of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)-- have reached a long-term power purchase agreement, under which the state would get 50MW of power.

The agreement was inked between the NSPCL and the board officials in presence of CSEB chairman Rajib Ranjab and NSPCL-BSP General manager S V Shahi at the board headquarters here.

Under the agreement, the NSPCL would give 50 MW power to the state from its under construction 500 MW thermal power plant that would come up in Bhilai, about 40 km west of the state capital.

NSPCL is the joint venture formed by the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), the leading power generation utility of India, and Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), in March 2001 with 50 per cent equity from each.

This company took over captive power plants at Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) and Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP).

NTPC and SAIL formed another joint venture company called Bhilai Electric Supply Company Private Limited (BESCL) in March 2002 each having 50 per cent equity.

This company now owns, operates and manages the captive power plant""II at the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP).

In October 2002, the company was converted into a private company.

BESCL was merged with NSPCL on September 11, 2006.

Management control of the company was with NTPC.

The plant will have two units, each of 250 MW, according to senior NSPCL officials.

Of the 500MW power generated from the plant, scheduled to start production from April 2007, BSP would get 280MW and CSEB 50MW.

While CSEB Chairman Rajib Ranjan asserted that the state should get more share, sources in the NSPCL said that the board had earlier refused to purchase power when the company offered while preparing the feasibility report.

The company then issued bids in the open market and received proposal from the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar-Haveli to purchase rest of the 170MW power.

Sources said the company was now bound to sell power to Dadra and Nagar-Haveli as it had signed an agreement.

The 280MW power to be supplied to BSP would benefit the SAIL plant at Bhilai for its expansion project.

With BSP moving ahead to increase its production from 4.5mtpa to 7mtpa, the power consumption of the plant was expected to increase from 250MW to 350MW.