Raj thermal plant shuts 5 units amid weak power demand

Five units of 1,500 MW Suratgarh Thermal Power Station (STPS) in Rajasthan are shut due to weak electricity demand in the state, a plant official said.

Five of total six units having total generation capacity of 1,500 MW are shut from June 27 due to weak demand in the state, STPS chief engineer Madan Lal Sharma said.

He said that operations of two units were closed on June 26 and another three units were closed the next day.

Ruling out coal shortage being the reason behind the closure of the units, Sharma said the plant currently has a coal stock of 1.11 lakh tonne.

He said in the last two years too, units were closed down during June and July.

Officials said the decision to shut the units was taken after directions from the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) as additional power generated from the plant cannot be sold to other states owing to agreement rules.

Currently, power requirement is being met out by power plants in Chhabra and Kalisindh, which are nearer to coal mines and the power generated by them is cheaper than the STPS and Kota power plant, they said.

According to the power ministry data, the state witnessed power demand of 6,449 MW on July 1 while there was no shortage of power during peak hours.