Vedanta to resume power units after pollution board revokes order

Vedanta on Thursday said it would resume operations of some units of its 2,400 Mw coal-fired power plant and 1,215 Mw captive power plant after the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) lifted its closure order partially. Both the power generating facilities are located close to Vedanta's aluminium smelter plant at Jharsuguda.

The pollution watchdog in its closure direction on September 13, revoked the Consent to Operate for some Vedanta power units. It asked the company to suspend operations of two 600 Mw units of the 2,400 Mw IPP (Independent Power Producer) and three units (3x135 Mw) of the CPP complex.

In a regulatory filing, Vedanta informed that the SPCB has revoked closure of two units of 135 Mw each and one 600 Mw unit on September 20.

The revocation order will help the company get complete reliable power generation back in place, satisfying the current requirement for smelter operations, the company said in a statement. The revocation order would also obviate the need to buy 200 Mw power from external sources by Vedanta.