Tender floated to import coal for new 800 MW thermal plant

CHENNAI: Tangedco has floated a tender to import coal to meet the requirement for the generation of 800 MW North Chennai Super Critical Thermal Power Station Stage 3 which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Stalin on March 7.

The supercritical thermal power has been designed to run on 100% imported coal but officials are planning to run it based on 50% imported coal and domestic coal considering the high cost of imported coal.

According to Tangedco sources, the trial operation of the unit is underway, and it has generated a maximum of 250 MW. “The trial operation will continue until the unit achieves stabilisation. Since it’s the first supercritical plant with a generation capacity of 800 MW, it will take a few more months to resolve the teething problems,” sources said.

As the power generation will be stepped up, it requires a continuous supply of imported coal, sources said. “Hence, the tender was floated based on a variable price mechanism. The quantum of the coal import is not yet known,” they pointed out. “So far, the NCTPS Stage 3 has generated about 42 million units. Once the unit achieves commercial operation, it will generate 5,957

Tangedco has a Fuel Supply Agreement with Singareni Collieries Co Ltd for 1.971 million tonnes/year, which is 50% of the requirement

million units a year at the plant load factor of 85%.”

Tangedco has a Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) with Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) for 1.971 million tonnes/year, which is 50% of the coal requirement that has been executed for 25 years. “The rest of the requirement would be met through import,” sources added.