Neyveli Lignite Corporation has no power to apportion additional power to Tamil Nadu from its units as originally agreed to as power sharing is governed by the ‘Gadgil formula’, a top NLC official said here today

“NLC has no power to apportion additional power to Tamil Nadu from its units, as power sharing is governed by the Gadgil formula. It is upto the power ministry to decide on this factor,” the NLC Chairman, Mr A.R. Ansari, said in a statement here.

Under the Gadgil formula, the State is entitled to 220 MW from 500 MW produced by NLC. This quantity cannot be given now, he said.

Mr Ansari said current delays in execution of power projects are due to failure of equipment suppliers. To quicken the process, NLC proposed to procure equipment from foreign suppliers and indigenous firms, he said.

He said commercial generation of power from the second thermal unit would begin by June 2012.

The Rs 4,910 crore 1,000 MW Tuticorn Power Project, a joint venture of NLC and Tamil Nadu Generation And Production Corporation is expected to be commissioned in 2013. The project is behind schedule by six months.

He said the Jayamkondam Project had been dropped as land acquisition was posing a problem, though the area had rich Lignite reserves.

The Centre had also sanctioned 1,000 MW new thermal power project to replace the existing first thermal unit (TPS-1) 600 MW at an estimated cost Rs 5,907.11 crore. This is scheduled to be commissioned in 54 months, he said.

Mr Ansari said NLC has decided to acquire functional coalfields in countries like Australia and South Africa and added that an official team would soon leave for these countries to inspect them.

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