Green shoots visible in power demand: NTPC Chairman

Gurdeep Singh said NTPC expects to produce about 107 million metric tonnes of coal per annum with several govt initiatives

The country's largest power generating company NTPC is hopeful of an uptake in the power demand of the country with several efforts of the government kicking. Addressing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, the Chairman and the Managing Director Gurdeep Singh said NTPC is moving swiftly in the pursuit of affordable 'Power for All'.

"Green shoots are visible as far as upswing in power demand goes and this is in line with our long held expectations of growth. NTPC is one of the engines of economic growth. The more the economy grows, the greater the opportunities for it," said Singh.

He said the company is hopeful of several government initiatives such UDAY reforms for power distribution, the new National Tariff Policy, enhanced coal supply and the revised coal linkage procedure. NTPC is also looking at improved coal supply from its ten captive coal blocks coming in operation with cumulative geological reserve of 7 billion tonne.

"NTPC expects to produce about 107 million metric tonnes of coal per annum. Mining operations have commenced in Pakri Barwadih, and your Company has progressed well in other coal blocks also. Coal sampling and determining the grade of coal are very important steps having impact on the quality and price of coal as also on the cost of generation," said Singh.

Installed capacity of NTPC is currently at 47,228 MW, which includes 800 MW of hydro, and 360 MW of solar generation capacity. It commissioned 10,125 MW in the Twelfth Five Year Plan so far, and aims to commission around 4,500 MW more during FY17.

The company has a pipeline of around 24,000 MW under implementation at 23 locations in the country. This includes 4,050 MW being undertaken by joint venture and subsidiary companies. This translates into a capex of about Rs 1,60,000 crore, said Singh.