By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, September 20, 2018: National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), the country’s largest power utility, has ruled out the scrapping power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with the Odisha government for its Stage-III Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) in 2010.

The state government was to draw 50 per cent of the 1,320 Mw power to be generated by the station in its next phase ramp up, according to the PPA. But Odisha is now looking at 1,500-1,600 Mw excess thermal power from 2019-20, counting its 800 Mw allocation from NTPC’s upcoming 1,600 Mw fresh capacity at Darlipalli (near Sundargarh) and 660 Mw to be generated by its own utility, Odisha Power Generation Corporation Ltd (OPGC).

In view of this glut, the state government was not keen to commit to more power procurement.
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Odisha’s power minister Susanta Singh in a letter to union energy minister recently said, the power utility had hiked tariff to Rs 3.40 per unit, contrary to Rs 2.70 as agreed in the PPA.

At present, Odisha was buying power from the existing 460 Mw TTPS capacity at Rs 3.18 per unit. To source power from the NTPC Kaniha super thermal power station (3010 Mw), the state government was forking out Rs 3.70-3.80 per unit including transmission charges for using the Central network.