Move comes after shelving of a series of big hydel projects in the hill state
Aseries of closures of big hydel projects has prompted Uttarakhand to now explore the possibility of setting up a thermal plant outside the hill state. It has asked the Centre to allocate coal blocks for this.
The state-run Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam (UJVN) Ltd is looking for an opportunity to set up a 2,000-Mw plant in Jharkhand with an investment of Rs 12,000 crore.
For this purpose, UJVN’s managing director G P Patel paid a visit to Ranchi for talks with top officials of Jharkhand State Electricity Board to explore the possibility of forming a joint venture (JV) for the proposed thermal power plant.
“We have held talks with the officials of Jharkhand Electricity Board,” Patel told Business Standard. “Our planning to set up a thermal plant outside Uttarakhand is at a very preliminary stage. A lot of more work is required before we finalise any deal.”
Uttarakhand chief secretary Alok Kumar Jain also wrote a letter to the union coal ministry, requesting for allocation of coal blocks.
With the hydropower sector taking a beating owing to closure of a series of big hydel projects, the UJVN, having an installed capacity of 1,306.25 Mw, has already entered into a joint venture with GAIL to set up two gas-power plants at Kashipur and Haridwar.
Also, an investment of Rs 2,500 crore is proposed in the two plants with a capacity of 350 Mw each.
The stae-run power generation company is also looking for a capacity addition target of 582 Mw (2 large and 18 small hydel projects) by the end of 12th Plan, aggregating the installed capacity of the company to 2,608 Mw.
