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Hinduja National Power Corporation Limited is set to commission its first 520 MW unit of the 1,040 MW thermal power project located at Palavalasa, near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh by December.
Thereafter, the second unit of 520 MW will be ready to go on stream by January-February 2015, according to a Hinduja Group official.
Several hurdlesThe company may consider further expansion of the project.
The project had to surmount several hurdles, including securing land from the State Government. Power generate from the unit is expected to bring much relief to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the latter in particular, as it is facing severe power crunch. However, the sharing is yet to be finalised.
This thermal power project promoted by the diversified Hinduja Group was one of the eight fast-track projects awarded by the Government in early 1990s after the reform measures were initiated by the PV Narasimha Rao Government. But regulatory hurdles hampered the project’s progress.
The company revived the project in 2009-10 and secured fresh permission for implementation and is now making arrangements to supply to the grid.
A top power sector official tracking the project’s progress told BusinessLine that while its imminent commissioning is pleasant news, certain power supply issues still need to be sorted out.
The company has a long-term coal supply arrangement with Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. Hinduja Power had signed a memorandum of understanding with the State in 1992. With the project securing a fresh nod, the State discoms signed a Continuation Agreement in 2013 (before the State was split) for renewal of the power purchase agreement. The power generated was to be supplied to AP discoms. However, post the division of the State, the power may have to be shared.
Other fast-track projectsAmong the fast-track projects accorded clearance by the Centre in the early 1990s were the following: GVK Jegurupadu (235 MW), Dabhol project (1967 MW), Spectrum Power (208 MW), Bhadrawati (2x536 MW), Mangalore thermal project (4x250 MW), Hinduja National (2x520 MW), Neyveli (250 MW), and Ib Valley (2x250 MW).
The Hinduja group had earlier outlined its intent to build 10,000 MW of generation capacity in the country, at an outlay of about $10 billion (about ₹60,000 crore).
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