Jharsuguda: The Ib thermal power plant owned by Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) at Banharpalli in this district is going through a rough patch as it is reportedly incurring a loss of `50 lakh per day due to alleged irregularities by its officials and management authorities. The thermal power plant seems to be functioning at whims of the officials with hardly anyone there to take its responsibility and put it back on track. The officials were accused of being more concerned about serving their own interests than about meeting the goals set by the power plant. Senior officials are trying to put up a brave face on the plant’s performance with the help of some media. But a look at plant’s functioning reveals its precarious state. The plant urgently needs repair, but the OPGC authorities keep on extending timelines instead of doing the needful.
A senior official on condition of anonymity said that the whimsical way of managing things has landed the OPGC in deep trouble with the plant reportedly incurring a loss of Rs 50 lakh per day. Reports said, the Ib thermal has a total of four units for power generation. Power amounting to 210 X 2 megawatt is produced from the first and the second units while 660 X 2 megawatt of power is produced from the third and the fourth units. These four units have been built in two phases. The first and the second units were made operational in 1984 while and the third and the fourth units were in 2019. Funds worth Rs 11,000 crore were spent for construction of the third and the fourth units. However, for lack of foresight, there were faults in the construction.
As a result, these two units are yet to become fully functional. The faulty construction of these two units has also hindered proper management of ash produced from the units. To rectify the errors, the OPGC authorities have started reconstruction of the units at an expense of Rs 600 crore. But, time will only tell if the corrective measures will yield results or not. Power production often gets disrupted from the units due to lack of maintenance at regular intervals. This has landed the state-owned unit in heavy financial losses. Recently, the OPGC authorities shut down the second unit for capital overhauling (repairing) for 30 days from late night of July 14. The time limit has entered into 47th day but the second unit is yet to become operational. The maintenance work has been assigned to Bharat heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL). The OPGC authorities are required to sign a contract with the latter on the number of days it requires to complete the work. The OPGC can take action on the agency if it fails to complete the work within the designated period and extends the deadline.
However, it is not yet clear whether the OPGC has signed any contract with BHEL. When contacted, OPGC’s public relations officer Himanshu Behera said initially 30 days was fixed for capital overhauling of the unit. However, in view of the repairing works the deadline has been extended after obtaining necessary permission from Gridco. Notably, there are instances where capital overhauling works were completed within the fixed deadlines in the past.