"In 2014-15, the Central Electricity Authority and NTPC conducted a study to phase out the 30,000MW coal-based capacity due to age, low efficiency and equipment health," said Shahi
Puducherry: Older plants, old technology, not enough maintenance - do India's thermal power plants not only need a major overhaul but are also phased out of old equipment that is unsafe and inefficient? According to former power secretary RV Shahi, India's total installed capacity of 3,70,000 MW is 2,00,000 lakh tonnes, which comes from thermal power plants.
Shahi said that due to low efficiency and equipment health, National Thermal Power Corporation and Central Electric Authority executed a study to phase out 30,000 MegaWatt coal-based capacity in the year 2014 and 2015. He also said that since the maximum consumption of electricity does not cross more than. 1,80,000 MegaWatt, so there is a sufficient quantity of electricity available.
So, the explosion at the Neyveli Thermal Power Plant on Wednesday caused insufficient maintenance and significant maintenance delays?
According to experts in the power sector, accidents such as the deaths of six people and injuries to 17 people this week are extremely rare in thermal plants. One of the reasons that contributed to the Neyveli plant suffering two accidents in quick succession is ageing equipment that did not go for the life extension program (LEP).
Tamil Nadu CITU state general secretary G Sukumaran said that both the 5th and 6th plants, which suffered accidents - one in May and the other on Wednesday - were erected by BHEL in 1991 and may have increased their life expectancy.
Sukumaran said, "We held talks with the management yesterday and this morning and they have assured that the plant will be run only after a thorough security check."
TPS II has seven units. The first three units had no major accidents that are more than 32 years old, but units 5 and 6, which were commissioned much later, were at risk of accidents.
The company has now decided to close all four units commissioned in the second phase to take up the life extension program (LEP). The company can operate these units for the next 15 to 20 years after LEP. LEPs can take roughly three to five years depending on the condition of the units. “To generate 1MW of thermal energy, we need an investment of Rs 5 crore. LEP is an option to cut investment on the new thermal power plant, ”said a thermal power sector expert.
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