Union Minister of Power R.K. Singh on Tuesday said that the National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) has emerged as the one of the best and largest PSUs in India.
The NTPC's reputation for efficiency and reliability has been well established, he said this virtually at the opening of the Indian Power Stations O&M Conference hosted by the NTPC here.
“I envision the company doubling its capacity from current 73 GW to 150 GW and to become a global, multinational entity operating its power plants worldwide,” an official statement quoted him as saying.
The flagship event commemorates the commissioning of the first unit of NTPC at Singrauli in 1982, marking a pivotal moment in the power sector’s trajectory, leading to decades of innovation and excellence.
The Minister also stressed on the importance of timely completion of under-construction projects and reduction of forced outage to meet the rising demand of electricity, highlighting NTPC’s pivotal role in driving India's economic growth.
While referring to energy transition, he said it should not be worrying as both thermal and renewable shall coexist. The world is not against coal-based power.
But for the sake of the current and upcoming coal-based plants, it was the need of the hour to develop mechanisms to ensure increasing efficiency while reducing emission.
Singh said a country as big as India needed more nuclear capacity. The JV of NTPC and NPCIL must strive to add nuclear capacity as fast as possible.
The Minister released the IPS 2024 E-Compendium, Steam Turbine E-Learning Module, Boilerpedia and inaugurated Vikalp, a unique ash-brick made from industrial byproducts.
Pankaj Agarwal, Secretary (Power), and Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson (CEA), also attended the meeting.
The programme was also attended by Gurdeep Singh, CMD, NTPC, along with the Board of Directors and other senior officials from the Ministry of Power and NTPC.
The meeting serves as a platform for industry leaders to engage in collaborative discussions to explore innovative strategies to enhance safety, reliability and cost-effectiveness in power generation.
The occasion also witnessed presentation of accolades such as the Swarn Shakti Awards (2022-2023) and Business Excellence Awards (2023-2024), recognising the outstanding contributions of NTPC power stations.
NTPC Talcher Kaniha claimed the coveted title of Overall Champion (Winner) of the Swarn Shakti Award, while NTPC Vindhyachal secured the position of Overall Champion (Runner-Up).
In the Business Excellence Awards category, NTPC Vindhyachal was honoured with the Champion and Overall Excellence Award.
