Operations at two units each of power major NTPC Ltd’s 1600 MW Farakka and the 2340 MW Kahalgaon stations have ground to a halt due to an acute coal shortage, hitting the Eastern grid.

The Kahalgaon and Farakka projects had been forced to operate at around 50% plant load factor during the last couple of months due to the delay in fuel imports.

A NTPC official said that “Some units of projects in the Eastern region have been shut down due to lack of coal. We are looking at alternatives.”

According to official data, 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. The Kahalgaon and Farakka stations operated at PLF of 45.43% and 51.78% respectively during September.

Generation at NTPC’s 460 MW Talcher station has also been affected due to non receipt of imported coal.

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

Indian government 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.

(Sourced from Business Line)