Operations at two units each of power major NTPC’s 1,600-MW Farakka and the 2,340-MW Kahalgaon stations have ground to a halt due to an acute coal shortage, hitting the Eastern grid.

The delays in a coal import tender floated by MMTC have been the main reasons for coal-based generation faltering at key NTPC stations.

Low load factor

The Kahalgaon and Farakka projects had been forced to operate at around 50% plant load factor (PLF) during the last couple of months due to the delay in fuel imports. “Some units of projects in the Eastern region have been shut down due to lack of coal. We are looking at alternatives,” an NTPC official said.

A loss of generation of 1,357 million units was reported at NTPC power stations during September due to the imported coal failing to come through, according to official data. The Kahalgaon and Farakka stations operated at PLF of 45.43% and 51.78% respectively during September, an official said. Generation at NTPC’s 460 MW Talcher station has also been affected due to non-receipt of imported coal.

The Centre had earlier mandated state-run MMTC to import 12.5 million tonnes of coal on behalf of NTPC for the current fiscal. The tender had to be reissued at the end of August after some bidders faulted the bidding process.

NTPC’s total coal requirement during the current fiscal is pegged around 150 million tonnes. Since the imported coal has a high calorific value, 12.5 million tonnes of the imported dry fuel would be equivalent to around 19 million tonnes of domestic coal.

In the light of the delays in the MMTC tender, NTPC is planning to import coal directly from the next financial year and the power major has set up a committee to look into the issue.
Taken from Business Line