As part of its ongoing efforts to provide cheap electricity to people of the state, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday approved two ‘Obra D’ thermal power projects of 800MW each, to be built at the cost of Rs 18,000 crore in Obra, Sonbhadra.
The thermal power plants were approved in the Council of Ministers’ meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday.
It may be mentioned here that the agreement was signed by the Yogi Adityanath government and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) during the Global Investors’ Summit held in Lucknow in February earlier this year.
The projects will be executed by the government in a 50-50 partnership with NTPC. While 30 per cent equity will be given for the implementation of the projects, the rest (70 per cent) of the amount will be arranged from financial institutions.
The specialty of the ‘Obra D’ thermal power plants is that they will be the first-ever ultra super-critical units in the state. The plants will boast of state-of-the-art technology and high efficiency, with low consumption of coal to bring down the cost of power generation, which could lead to the slashing of electricity rates in UP.
The first unit will be ready in 50 months. Urban Development and Energy Minister AK Sharma said the consumption of electricity was increasing in the state by the day. “During the Global Investors’ Summit, we had signed an agreement with NTPC to set up thermal plants at Obra. Today, the project has been approved by the Council of Ministers. The thermal plants will be built on about 500 acres of land and if further land is needed, arrangements will be made. The Uttar Pradesh government and NTPC will have a 50-50 participation under which 30 per cent equity will be given by both the parties, and the idea is to take 70 per cent loan from financial institutions. The target is to make the first unit ready in 50 months and the second in 56 months,” he elaborated.
The minister further said that UP’s current capacity in terms of thermal power generation stands at 7,000 MW and the two plants will contribute almost 25 per cent of the existing capacity.
“We hope that these plants become an energy hub not only of the state, but of the entire country. The consumption of coal will be lower at the new plants because of the use of advanced technologies, while the transportation cost of coal will also drop significantly due to the nearby location of NCL coal mines. This will substantially reduce the cost of production at the plant. At present, we buy electricity at Rs 5.50 per unit but from these plants, we will be able to buy electricity at Rs 4.79 per unit. That is, we will be able to provide cheap electricity to consumers at Re 1 per unit,” he added.
