Patna, June 10: The Centre has taken a decision to slash power supply from the proposed expansion of the thermal power plant at Kanti in Muzaffarpur. The decision comes at a time the state is reeling from acute power shortage.

Sources said the Union ministry of power has conveyed its decision to the state government. Under the expansion plan, the work on 390MW (2x195MW) power project with an estimated cost of Rs 2,900 crore is underway.

The plant is expected to start generation in the first quarter of 2013. Kanti thermal power station (KTPS) is a 50:50 joint venture between Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

Besides, Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (Bhel) has been entrusted with the job of carrying out renovation and modernisation works at Kanti and Barauni, each of them having two units of 220MW. The generation is expected to start by June 2012.

With the Centre’s new directive, the state would receive around 67 per cent of the total power generated from the two new power plants from 2013.

BSEB chairman P.K. Rai told The Telegraph over phone: “Yes, the Centre has slashed our quota from the Kanti power plant. Bihar will receive around 67 per cent power from the plant.”

The board had signed a power purchase agreement with the NTPC for the power to be generated from the plant, BSEB sources said.

But the Centre’s move has come as a surprise for the state government, which has been trying its best to augment power generation either through setting up of new plants or purchasing power from open market or getting allocation increased from the central sector.

The state government, which has raised its objections over the move, has asked the Centre to reconsider its decision. The Kanti expansion plan was originally designed to set up two units of 250MW (2x250MW) but later the Centre threw a spanner in the plant construction work citing the Airport Authority of India’s objection to the height of its chimney, which may cause security threat to the nearby airport in Muzaffarpur.

With the reduction in the chimney’s height, the plant could not generate 500MW electricity as planned earlier and hence its capacity was reduced to 390MW with the reduction in the chimney’s height to 146m from 275m.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar had written a letter (in April) to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to allocate 50 per cent power to the state government from the central generating power plants located in Bihar.