Sundergarh UMPP by 2013

The proposed 4000 Mw Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP) being set up by the Centre in Sunderagarh district in Orissa is likely to be commissioned by 2013. Orissa will get about 1300Mw (32.5 percent of the total generation) power from this project.

About Rs 16,000 crore is proposed to be invested fin this UMPP which includes installation of the generating station and infrastructure to evacuate power from the project. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) named as Orissa Integrated Power Limited has already been formed and coal blocks have been allotted in Meenakshi, Meenakshi-B and Dipside Meenakshi with a reserve of 880 million tonnes.

The project requires about 4000 acres of land and the process of land acquisition has started. The modalities for water allocations are being worked out, energy minister Surya Narayan Patro said.

He said, the 13 Independent Power Producers (IPPs), who have signed MoUs with the Orissa for their respective projects, are expected to generate about 17,195 Mw power in next 5 years.

There is a proposal to set up two transmission corridors to evacuate power from these projects. This includes 765 Kv line connecting Jharsuguda with Dharamjaygarh ( near Raipur in Chhatishgarh) and 800 Kv DC line connecting Angul withBarnala in Punjab. While the project cost of the 765 Kv Jharsuguda-Dharamjaygarh power corridor is estimated at Rs 5000 crore, the cost of the 800 Kv DC line from Angul to Barnala will cost about Rs 10.500 crore.

These power corridors are proposed to be set up in joint venture between the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) and Central Electricity Authority (CEA). PGCIL will mobilise the required funds for the project and it will be recovered through transmission tariff and from the power sold outside the state.

The state government is not required to pay anything for this project. Patro said, as per the MoU signed with the IPPs, preference will be given to the local people and persons from the state in matters of employment subject to the need of the project.

However, the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik has taken a decision that the companies will have to employ 90 percent of the total requirement of unskilled or semi-skilled work force from the locals. Similarly, while 60 percent of the skilled manpower will be from the local candidates, a minimum of 30 per cent posts in the junior management cadre are reserved for the local people.

However, in the senior management level, the company is free to fill up positions from the available candidates in the open market without any specific preference to the locals. The government has even decided to modify the earlier MoUs by incorporating this employment clause.

The minister said, all the IPPs who had signed MoUs with the Orissa government have been intimated about the new criteria. The collector of the concerned districts, where these projects are coming up, will be responsible for implementation of this decision.