NTPC-Talcher units' shutdown triggers power shortage

Two major units of the Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS), owned by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), were shut down due to technical snags, pushing the state towards a major power shortage.

The operations of one of these two units (the fifth unit) of TTPS have been restored by the officials of the plant. This unit had developed tube leakages from its boiler on Saturday.

However, the sixth unit of TTPS with a capacity of 110 MW has been shut down since Friday due to leakage of hydrogen from its turbine. It will take time to repair this unit, said an official of NTPC-TTPS.

The breakdown of the two units of NTPC-TTPS during peak summer had left the officials of NTPC and Grid Corporation of Orissa (Gridco) worried.

It may be noted that these units had already undergone massive renovation and modernisation works in the past few years at a cost running into hundreds of crore of rupees. Gridco which was getting 460 MW of power from the NTPC-TTPS was now getting 110 MW less power as the sixth unit of the power station was yet to be restored. NTPC-TTPS has an installed capacity of 460 MW which consisted of two 110 MW units (2x110 MW) and four units, each with a capacity of 60 MW (4x60 MW).

According to the agreement between NTPC and the Orissa government, the NTPC-TTPS power plant was dedicated to Gridco.