The first 600 megawatt unit of the 2400 mw (600mw x 4) thermal power plant set up by Sterlite Energy Private Limited at Barkhamunda near Jharsuguda is expected to be commissioned by September 2009.
The remaining three units will go on stream at an interval of three months each thereafter.
Similarly, Bhushan Energy Limited setting up a 2000 mw thermal power plant at Ghantigadia, Nuahat and Talabahal is expected to commission its 300mw unit soon.
Among other power projects in the pipeline in Orissa, Lanco Power Limited, setting up 1320 mw thermal power plant at Kurunti in Dhenkanal district and Monnet Power, setting up 100 mw power plant at Malibrahmani in Angul district, have made satisfactory progress.
“We hope to add about 1000 mw to the existing generation capacity within a year with Sterlite Energy contributing 600 mw and Bhushan Energy contributing 300 mw”, Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, secretary, energy, Orissa government said.
Talking to the media after a high level meeting chaired by the chief secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy to review the progress of the projects of six Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Mohapatra said, the state government has requested Sterlite to supply the power to be generated from its first 600 mw unit to the state grid. This will add to the surplus power of the state and can be traded outside earning crores of rupees in revenue.
He said, the current availability of power in the state is about 4000 mw and the demand is about 3000 mw. However, the total demand is likely to increase to 5000 mw after 5 years if the current phase of industrialisation continues.
While the increase in domestic demand is estimated to be about 600 mw to 700 mw, most of the increased demand will come from the industrial units. The availability of additional power will enable the state to meet the enhanced demand from industrial and domestic users.
Stating that the government hopes 20,000 mw power generation from the IPPs in next 5 years, he said, the Orissa government’s share will be 5000 mw. Apart from increasing availability, it will bring thousands of crores to the state from trading, he added.
Earlier, the IPPs drew the attention of the government about the difficulties associated with the land acquisition and water supply. The chief secretary is reported to have directed the concerned officials to expedite the process. Besides, he also suggested the utilities to take a pro-active role in convincing the people about land acquisition.
“ We have requested the chief secretary to take care of land acquisition, water allotment and sought the support of the government in getting coal linkage”, Santosh Panda, vice-president (projects), Visa Power Limited said.
If coal linkage is provided, the company can start the construction work by March 2009, Panda said adding that power evacuation continues to be another area of concern. Visa Power is setting up 1000 mw power plant at Brahmanabasta near Athagarh.
Similarly, Bhushan Energy requested the state government to expedite the process of acquiring 1800 acres of land for its project.The company has already deposited Rs 5.6 crore with IDCO towards the land acquisition charges and applied to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) for Long Term Open Access (LTOA) to evacuate power.
The IPPs taking part in the review meeting today included Monnet Power, Nabbharat Power, Sterlite Energy, Visa Power, Bhushan Energy and Lanco Power.
