Nagpur: While Nitin Raut, the new energy minister, has ruled out the scrapping of two new 660MW thermal units at the Koradi power plant, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar wants new ones at Nashik.
A source in Mahagenco said Nashik power plant only has three units. “Only one is currently being run as the electricity is more costly than other power stations. Plans have been made for a 660MW device but it is stuck because of the question posed by the defence ministry (MoD) over the chimney height, “he added.
Chhagan Bhujbal, minister of Nashik, wants new units there to get work for local people. He asked Mahagenco to start new ones there, but he did not get a lot of reaction. And he told his boss, Sharad Pawar.
The source said Pawar recently held a meeting with Mahagenco’s president-cum-managing director (CMD) and other senior officials in this regard.
The officials told him the height of the chimney problem. We also said that because the Nashik plant was far from coal mines, its power costs were higher than those located in Vidarbha. “We told him that the merit order dispatch (MOD) would not buy Nashik money,” the source said.
But Pawar was steadfast on new units. Therefore, the officials recommended that the old non-operational units be restored and made online. The NCP chief has asked officials to submit a report on all the options within days.
Although it is difficult for Mahagenco to receive environmental clearance for Koradi units, it is not ready to move them to Nashik, where local people are ready.
Local environmentalists mocked Mahagenco’s claims that it would not buy Nashik electricity. “Mahagenco will sign a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with its sole customer, MSEDCL, and if power is required then Nashik power will be consumed,” an environmentalist said.
The Mahagenco source also said Nashik power would be costly too at over Rs4 per unit with solar power costing about Rs3 per unit. But this argument also holds true for Koradi groups.
Raut wants new units in Koradi, creating 5,000 jobs for the locals. However, due to increased pollution, he is completely ignoring the damage to people’s health.
