Power production at YTPS to start in May

The Yermaras Thermal Power Station (YTPS) will start power production in May, instead of April as announced earlier.

This is because of the mishaps that occurred during the construction of the plant, said Maheshwara Rao, Managing Director (MD) of the Karnataka Power Corporation.

He was speaking to reporters during a visit to the project site near here on Thursday. The MD said that they were undertaking safety checks to ensure that such mishaps do not recur. 

Teams of experts of the KPC, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and from other organisations were involved in conducting the safety checks, the MD said.Rao said that thousands of labourers were working on the project, one of the biggest in the State and the country.

He said work on unit 1 was delayed due to the death of a few workers and subsequent protests. The MD said that the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission had instructed for 100 per cent production and that they would strive for 90 per cent. The MD said that all units of the Raichur Thermal Power Station were generating electricity to the optimum capacity and that it was getting the supply of quality coal.

Rao said that one coal block had been allotted for seven states, including Karnataka, in West Bengal. The State would get 2,000 metric tonnes, the MD said.