NTPC performance comes under CAG scanner

Government auditor the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) today said that it is conducting a performance audit on NTPC, the country's largest power producer, and expects to come out with a report by March.

"We are conducting a performance audit on NTPC power generation capacity. We will come up with a finding in six months," Deputy CAG Sunil Verma told reporters here.

He said CAG will look into capacity-utilisation and management of the projects to see if the state-run power generation company is working in its full capacity.

"We will see whether NTPC is managing the existing projects well so that power generation is as per capacity," he said.

The current electricity generation capacity of the company is over 32,000 Mw and it is planning to take it to 50,000 Mw by March 2012.

When asked if CAG will look into NTPC's order with Technopromexports of Russia, a CAG official said, "That would also come under the purview of the audit."

NTPC had placed an order for power equipment for its Barh Stage-I project in Bihar on Technopromexports, which was delayed due to contractual disputes with the Russian firm.