Inquiry ordered into Andhra power station mishap

HYDERABAD, DEC 12: Even as restoration work on the twin 220 MW units at Kothagudem thermal power station KTPS which suffered damage in ...

HYDERABAD, DEC 12: Even as restoration work on the twin 220 MW units at Kothagudem thermal power station KTPS which suffered damage in a fire accident commenced today, the State government has ordered an inquiry by a high-level experts committee to find out the cause of the mishap.

The three-member panel consisting of Social Welfare Principal Secretary Smarjit Ray and one representative each from the Central Electrical Authority CEA and the National Thermal Power Corporation NTPC has been asked to submit report within a fortnight. Ray had earlier worked in the energy department as principal secretary.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu ordered the probe based on the preliminary report submitted by AP State Electricity Board APSEB chairman J Parthasarathi who rushed to the spot yesterday. The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of restoration work at KTPS this morning.

The accident caused a loss of about Rs 200 crore to the APSEB. According to a senior official, the entire cable system andswitch gear units were damaged completely.

Meanwhile, the board is still undecided whether to restore the two units which were damaged in the fire or go in for new units as planned earlier. In fact, the APSEB had decided in 1995 to go in for restoration and modernisation Ramp;M of the B8217; Station of the KTPS at a cost of Rs 435 crore.Though the project had been allotted to the M/s BHEL-Siemens three years ago, the work could not be taken up in view of the financial constraints of the board. A letter of intent LoI was issued to the BHEL-Siemens last month and the project was to be completed in 26 months.

The State government as well as the board are unable to decide whether to wait for the Ramp;M project of the KTPS or to take up restoration of the damaged units to cope with the power demand. 8220;A decision on it would be taken in a day or two after assessing the exact extent of damage,8221; an official said.

If the units could be repaired within two or three months, the board might commence restoration worksimmediately. Otherwise, it might wait till the Ramp;M project was completed.

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8220;If we can restore the units before Rabi, then we will go in for the option, otherwise, it would be economical to wait till the entire project was over,8221; the official explained.

To bridge the shortfall in power due to the shutdown of KTPS units, the APSEB is contacting the eastern as well as western grids. Though the catastrophe has come as a blow to the APSEB8217;s morale, the exact loss in terms of generation as well as financial was not so high, board sources said. While the plant load factor PLF of the units was much below 50 per cent, they were fully covered by an insurance policy, they explained.