JOIN USRaichur Thermal Power Station unaffected by virus scare
Some good news for the state amid the COVID-19 gloom. The Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS), which accounts for over 40% of total electricity generated in-state, has remained unaffected by the emergency triggered by the coronavirus outbreak.
The power generation at the RTPS has continued unabated, thanks to a steady supply of coal by collieries from the coronavirus-hit Maharashtra and Telangana.
Moreover, coal stockyard at the plant has additional stock which will be sufficient for another one-and-a-half month. The RTPS receives coal from Western coalfields in Maharashtra, Mahanadi coalfields in Odisha and Singareni coal mines in Telangana.
RTPS, Executive Director, Venugopal told DH that power station requires around 25,000 metric tonnes of coal a day if the eight units with the total installed capacity of 1720 MW run at the optimum level. The stockyard has over seven lakh metric tonnes of coal at present against the capacity of 6.52 lakh metric tonnes, he explained.
The plant is receiving six to seven rakes of coal a day. Power generation at the plant was 34 million units (MU) on March 19. We will run all units to optimum level during the morning peak hours, he added.
Karnataka Power Corporation Limited, Managing Director, V Ponnuraj said, despite the COVID-19 scare, there had been no disruption in the regular supply of coal to the thermal power plant from the collieries. "We have additional stock for this summer. Going by the rate at which the coal is arriving, we will not face any shortage for the RTPS. As monsoon sets in after two months, the pressure on thermal plants will automatically come down," he explained.
However, RTPS has generated a total of 501.4 MU of power from March 1 to 19 while Yermarus Thermal Power Plant and Ballari Thermal Power Plant have generated 235.6 MU and 162.6 MU respectively. A total of 1840.73 MU of power, including hydro, wind and solar, has been added to the KPCL grid from March 1 to 19. Electricity consumption in the state is, more or less, 258 MU a day.