NTPC to hike capacity to 1,28,000 MW by 2032

NTPC, India's largest power producer, plans to expand its generating capacity to over 1,28,000 MW by 2032. Arup Roy Choudhury, NTPC's CMD, said the company was currently working on many new projects for rapid capacity addition and planned to become a 1,28,000-MW plus company by 2032. He was addressing a meeting of the company's employees in New Delhi today.

NTPC, with 15 coal-based and seven gas-based power stations and six joint venture power projects located across India, has a total installed capacity of 34,854 MW at present.

The company is engaged in implementation of projects having a cumulative capacity of 40,000 MW, of which 14,000 MW is in various stages of implementation.

NTPC generated 220.54 billion units (BUs) of electricity during 2010-11, which accounted for 27 per cent of the total electricity generated in India. NTPC has an 18 per cent share of the country's total installed capacity, according to an official statement.

Choudhury said NTPC is looking forward to suggestions from employees for incorporating better policies and systems.

In a recent move, the company tied up a syndicated loan worth Rs2,341 crore from a consortium of Indian banks for its 390-MW Muzaffarpur thermal power project in Bihar.
Its subsidiary, NTPC Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Ltd, has achieved financial closure on its Muzaffarpur thermal power project. The project consists of two units of 195 MW each.

Meanwhile, speaking to CNBC-TV18, Choudhury said things had definitely improved in the last couple of weeks. He was referring to the mining space, which was under severe stress of late with a barrage of issues ranging from political agitation to worker strikes.

There was also the after effects of the monsoon season to deal with, he said, adding that all seemed well going forward, and that power generation had picked up again.

With NTPC's plant load factor (PLF) exceeding 90 per cent, Choudhury expects that power generation would be much better in the third quarter as against the previous one.

With regards to imported coal, Choudhury said, it was not a viable option for Indian power producers who would have to look at power generation through domestic coal.

Last week, thanks to better than expected top line growth, NTPC posted a 15 per cent rise in net profit at Rs2,424 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal.