Sterlite Energy's first unit of 2,400-Mw plant goes on stream

The other three units may be commissioned over the next year.

Sterlite Energy (SEL), a part of Vedanta Resources plc, today commissioned its first unit of 4 X 600-mega watt (Mw) Jharsuguda thermal power plant in Orissa.

The other three units of the Rs 10,500-crore power project are likely to be commissioned over the next one year, at an interval of three months each. State Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today dedicated the first unit of the plant to the nation.

“Add this to the 1,215 (9 X 135 Mw) captive power plant (CPP) set up by Vedanta Aluminium, also at the same location, to feed energy to the company’s smelter plant, the Jharsuguda complex will be largest single location power station in the country with a combined capacity of 3,600 Mw,” said Pramod Suri, chief executive officer of SEL.

“We are also the first IPP (independent power producer) among the 27 IPPs, who have signed MoUs (memoranda of understanding) with the Orissa government for power plants, with a combined envisaged capacity of 32,000 Mw at an investment of Rs 1,60,000 crore, to go on stream in record time.”

According to SEL’s agreement with the Orissa government, the generation from the first unit of its Jharsuguda plant will be supplied to the state grid. The company, however, is free to sell power from the rest units in open market.

As on today, Orissa had a peak hour deficit of 400 Mw and the SEL project would go a long way in meeting this deficit, said state energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak.

After meeting the state’s need, SEL intends to sell power from its Jharsuguda IPP through open access system. “We intend to sell power on merchant basis and have not entered into any PPA (power purchase agreement)  with any state utility,” Suri said. For evacuation of power, the company has entered into a bulk power transmission agreement (BPTA) with Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL).