DVC power-packed plan

Calcutta: Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) plans to set up a 1500MW pumped storage at an estimated investment of Rs 5,200 crore in Jharkhand. The company will soon float a tender inviting bids for a detailed project report.

The proposed project that will help to meet peak power demand is located near Lugu village in Bokaro district of Jharkhand. "We have planned a 6x250 MW pumped storage project near Bokaro river. It will be a grid-connected project with an initial cost of around Rs 5,200 crore. We have received the pre-feasibility report and the next stage is the preparation of a detailed project report," DVC chairman P.K. Mukhopadhyay said on the sidelines of a CII event on Friday.

A pumped storage project helps to maintain grid balance by adding power for generation during peak demand and drawing power for pumping during off-peak period. Such projects help to make up for the shortfall of thermal power stations, reduce costly oil support and minimise breakdowns.

"The proposal for the installation of a 1500MW LuguPahar PSP is essential to fulfil peak power demand and justified in consideration with the requirement of excess 11,625MW peak power demand at the eastern zone in 2021-22. The project is expected to generate 1500MW of power for 6 hours in a day. Considering 355 days in a year (10 days for shutdown), LuguPahar can generate 3195 MU of energy in a year from the proposed 1500MW PSP," the pre-feasibility project report said.

"DVC has a proposal to install a more or less 300MW solar PV project at LuguPahar and other available areas of DVC. If a big solar project is connected with a grid, the frequency of the grid may change because of sudden variations in generation on account of natural calamity such as cloud, rain, storm etc," the report added.

The Bengal government is already operating a 900MW pumped storage plant at Bagmundi, Purulia, and state power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said plans are on for another 1,000MW project in Purulia.

PIL turmoil

A public interest litigation has been filed against the power utility for supplying 300MW power to Bangladesh which is beyond its command area covering Bengal and Jharkhand.

However, Mukhopadhyay said, "DVC is a distribution licensee. The DVC Act says DVC can generate, transmit and distribute power. The contract for Bangladesh is not plant-specific but pool power. We have heard there is a PIL and we will contest."