UP’s 1st supercritical thermal power project in Meja to go fully operational on Jan 31: NTPC

• The Unit-1 of the thermal power project was declared commercially operational in April 2019

• The plant was earlier expected to be commissioned by October 2020 but was delayed on account of the Covid-19 crisis

New Delhi: State-run NTPC Limited has said on Friday that its Meja Thermal Power Project is set to be fully operational from January 31 as Unit-II commences commercial operation. In a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, NTPC said, "… we wish to inform that based on achievement of approved norms and necessary approvals, Unit-2 of 660 MW capacity of Meja Thermal Power Station of Meja Urja Nigam (P) Limited (MUNPL) (a joint venture of NTPC Limited & UPRVUN Limited) is declared on commercial operation w.e.f. 00:00 hrs. of 31.01.2021."

The Unit-1 of the thermal power project was declared commercially operational in April 2019. And Unit-2 had successfully completed trial operation on January 15.

Meja Thermal Power Project

Meja Thermal Power Project is a coal-based thermal power plant located in Meja Tehsil in Allahabad district, Uttar Pradesh. The planned capacity of the power plant is 1,320 MW (2x660MW). The project has its own 28-km freight corridor for transportation of critical materials, such as coal, to plant by rail. The plant is also connected to Ganga river at Bijora village, through a network of about 30-km pipeline, for the transportation of water for industrial purposes. Meja Thermal Power Station is UP's first supercritical power plant (SCPP). The plant was earlier expected to be commissioned by October 2020, according to a quarterly report by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). However, the commissioning was delayed on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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With the commissioning of the Meja Thermal Power Project, the total commercial capacity of MUNPL and NTPC group will become 1,320 MW and 63,925 MW, respectively, said NTPC.

The backdrop

The Covid-19 crisis seems to have derailed India's thermal power capacity addition plan for FY2020-21 as the country looks set to witness the biggest-ever decline year-on-year and miss the target by a huge margin. Data sourced from the Ministry of Power showed that against a target of 10,591.15 MW for FY2020-21, India has added just 1,376.15 MW of thermal power capacity between April and December 2020.

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