Lakwa thermal power plant boosts output

GUWAHATI, Feb 19 : It is good news for this power-starved State. The relentless efforts of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) and the Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGCL), together with the improvement in the gas supply position, have mounted the generation capacity of Lakwa Thermal Power Station in a significant manner.

This has raised the State’s own power generation to around 250 MW now, on an average, from 228 MW on February 14.

According to Ashim Bhuyan, Managing Director (MD) of the APGCL, the power station generated 125.34 MW of power at 9 pm of February15. This is 5.34 MW more than the installation capacity of the gas-based power plant.

On February 14, the plant generated an amount of 122.2 MW of power at around 7-30 pm. Around 10 pm that day, the plant generated an amount of 123 MW of power, followed by 125.34 MW around 9pm of February 15. During peak load hour of February 16, the plant generated 122 MW of power, said Bhuyan.

The supply of gas to the plant has been streamlined. The Oil India Ltd (OIL), the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and the Canadian company CANARO have been supplying gas to the power station at an enhanced rate. The CANARO has been supplying gas to the plant from its Amguri field, said the APGCL MD.

The machinery of the power station at present has, in fact, the capacity to generate up to 126 MW depending on the ambient temperature. This is because of the good upkeep of the old machinery. Some of the machinery were installed in 1982 and some others were installed in 1984. Normally, the life span of thermal power plant machinery is 25 years or one lakh working hours. But the ASEB/APGCL engineers posted at the Lakwa Power Station are maintaining these machinery in a praise worthy manner, said the APGCL MD.

He also claimed that if the constraints in transmission is done away with and adequate gas supply of 1.2 million cubic standard metres (CSM) is ensured, this plant of seven turbines can generate at 100 per cent plant load factor (PLF).

The ASEB/APGCL have been generating 250 MW of power at present and they are purchasing the rest of the power the State requires from the Central Sector Units. The peak load hour (5pm to 10 pm) power requirement of the State is between 750 MW and 850 MW, while its off-peak load hour (6 am to 5pm) requirement is between 350 MW and 450 MW.

Apparently, the ASEB is not resorting to any load-shedding these days, the APGCL MD said. However, he maintained that there might be some local constraints causing disruption of power supply in some areas.