Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power Station
| Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power Station | |
|---|---|
  Location of the Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power Station | |
| Country | India |
| Location | Kahalgaon, Bhagalpur district of Bihar |
| Coordinates | 25°14′24″N 87°15′53″E / 25.24000°N 87.26472°ECoordinates: 25°14′24″N 87°15′53″E / 25.24000°N 87.26472°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date |
1992 2007 |
| Owner(s) | NTPC |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational |
4 X 210 MW 3 X 500 MW |
| Make and model |
LMZ Electorsila BHEL |
| Nameplate capacity | 2,340 MW |
Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power Station (KhSTPP)is located in Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district of Bihar. The power plant is one of the coal based power plants of NTPC.[1] The coal for the power plant is sourced from Rajmahal coalfield of Eastern Coalfields Limited. Source of water for the power plant is Ganga River.
Capacity
The total installed capacity of the plant is 2340 MW.
| Stage | Unit Number | Installed Capacity (MW) | Year of commissioning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1 | 210 | March 1992 |
| 1st | 2 | 210 | March 1994 |
| 1st | 3 | 210 | March 1995 |
| 1st | 4 | 210 | March 1996 |
| 2nd | 5 | 500 | March 2007 |
| 2nd | 6 | 500 | March 2008 |
| 2nd | 7 | 500 | June 2009 |
| Total | 2340 |
Coal supply problems
Two projects that were perennially short on coal through whole of last year were NTPC Ltd’s 2,340 MW Kahalgaon station in Bihar and the 2,100 MW Farakka station in West Bengal. The irony is that while Kahalgaon is located right on the pithead (at the coal mine itself, so that there is no need to transfer the coal to the plant), Farakka is not too far. And both are among stations that form the backbone of the eastern region’s generation sector. While the Farakka station has infrastructure in place to operate at over 90 per cent plant load factor, the utility is mostly operating at only 70 per cent because of the short supply of coal. The shortfall in domestic supplies is being made up by imports, which, in turn, jacks up tariffs. The problem here is that most coal reserves in the east are located in Maoist-infested areas. A senior government official says that the entire coal mining value chain in the eastern region is ridden with trade unionism and gangs who pilfer coal, especially from easy targets that include public sector firms or smaller private power producers. The head of a mid-sized state-owned generation firm has repeatedly been complaining about local Coal India employees colluding with middlemen to siphon off his fuel. “The coal mafia is strong and there is absolutely no guarantee that coal will reach the designated consumer, despite assurances from Kolkata (where Coal India is headquartered) or New Delhi,” the official says. With the coal crisis showing little sign of a resolution, despite the Prime Minister’s intervention, utilities across the country have been instructed to make design changes in all future coal-fired projects to enable higher imported coal blending. However, running power plants on imported coal involves an entirely different challenge."
References
External links
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