NTPC to shut 2.2 gw plants, add 5 gw new capacity

In the next couple of years, state-owned thermal power generator NTPC will shut plants with an installed capacity of 2,200 megawatt (mw) or 2.2 gigawatt (gw), including Delhi’s Badarpur Power Plant that has been labelled as “polluting” and is one of the reasons for poor air quality in National Capital Region (NCR) during the winters.

There are also plans to add new thermal power capacity of 5,000 mw in FY2019. During the last fiscal, NTPC’s installed capacity increased from 38,755 mw to 53,651 mw.

“We have smaller old thermal units in Tanda (in Uttar Pradesh) and Talcher (in Odisha) (that would be shut),” said Gurdeep Singh, chairman and managing director, NTPC.

Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority had ordered the closure of Badarpur Thermal Power Plant, which was to be shut by July 31. However, the date was postponed twice – first to August and now October this year.

Talking about coal procurement, Singh shared that there are plans for the company to buy imported coal to the tune of 2.5 million tonne, for which a tender is likely to be floated in another couple of months. This procurement of imported coal would be done by NTPC after a gap of over three years.

The utilisation of imported coal will be done only at the coastal power plants where it would be cheaper to get coal from abroad instead as compared to the landed cost of coal from domestic sources.

During an interaction with the media, Singh also said that NTPC has not received any formal communication yet on government’s plans to sell its stake in hydropower producer NHPC as part of the disinvestment target for the ongoing fiscal.

While sharing his opinion, he said, “Any deal is a good deal if it is at the right price.” The government's 73.67% stake in NHPC is estimated to be worth over Rs 18,000 crore.

For the last few years, NTPC has been expanding its green energy portfolio and acquisition of NHPC will only boost it. The largest thermal power producer has only one hydel plant – the 800 mw Koldam Project – built on river Satluj in Himachal Pradesh.

Last week, NTPC reported 1.14% dip in standalone net profit to Rs 2,588.14 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2018, due to reduction in ‘other income’ as well as higher depreciation, borrowing cost and expenditure on fuel. Year on year, NTPC’s total revenues increased 11% to Rs 22,839.98 crore.