A series of closures of big hide projects has prompted Uttarakhand to now explore the possibility of setting up a thermal plant outside the hill state. It has asked the Centre to allocate coal blocks for this.

The state run Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd is looking for an opportunity to set up a 2,000 MW plant in Jharkhand with an investment of INR 12,000 crore.

For this purpose, UJVN’s managing director Mr GP Patel paid a visit to Ranchi for talks with top officials of Jharkhand State Electricity Board to explore the possibility of forming a joint venture for the proposed thermal power plant.

Mr Patel told Business Standard that “We have held talks with the officials of Jharkhand Electricity Board. Our planning to set up a thermal plant outside Uttarakhand is at a very preliminary stage. A lot of more work is required before we finalise any deal.”

Uttarakhand chief secretary Alok Kumar Jain also wrote a letter to the union coal ministry, requesting for allocation of coal blocks.

With the hydropower sector taking a beating owing to closure of a series of big hydel projects, the UJVN, having an installed capacity of 1,306.25 Mw, has already entered into a joint venture with GAIL to set up two gas-power plants at Kashipur and Haridwar.

Also, an investment of INR 2,500 crore is proposed in the two plants with a capacity of 350 MW each.

The state run power generation company is also looking for a capacity addition target of 582 MW (2 large and 18 small hydel projects) by the end of 12th Plan, aggregating the installed capacity of the company to 2,608 MW.

Source - Business Standard

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