NTPC Ltd has hinted that its 500-MW unit II of phase II of 1000-MW thermal power plant coming up at Simhadri in Andhra Pradesh, is poised for trial runs in the later part of this month.
This will immensely benefit the power-starved State, which is facing acute shortage of power in recent times, with industries faced with two-day power holidays. The State plans to harness its potential till it is fully synchronised to produce all of 500 MW.
The NTPC Chairman, Mr Arup Roy Choudhary, met the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, at the latter's camp office to discuss some of the projects that NTPC has been handling in the State and also the proposed 4,000-MW ultra mega power project (UMPP) at Pudimadaka near Visakhapatnam, their second in the south after Kudgi UMPP in Karnataka.
COAL SUPPLIES
According to Government sources, the talks centred around early clearances for the proposed UMPP in Andhra Pradesh and allocation of coal from the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) both to meet the coal shortage for its plant at Simhadri in the near term and for new projects in the long term. NTPC is also making arrangement for coal from Australian mines through the Adanis.
At a meeting where the SCCL Managing Director, Mr Narasing Rao, officials of AP Transco, and the State Power Ministry were present, the discussion also centred around possibility of closer cooperation between NTPC and SCCL for coal supplies for upcoming projects. This may even lead to possible sharing of coal blocks.