A nurse at work during a power cut at Sadar Hospital. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Jan. 6: Apparently irked by the tardy functioning of the Patratu Thermal Power Station (PTPS), the Centre has made a proposal to the state government to handover the plant to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

The authorities of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) have asked the Jharkhand Electricity Board (JSEB) to think over the proposal. CEA is an important arm of the Union power ministry that guides on all the matters related to development of the power sector in the country.

Highly placed sources in the board told The Telegraph that CEA was irked by the fact that the state government failed to improve the generation at PTPS. CEA authorities told the JSEB team, which is headed by chairman B.M. Verma, that they have only been hearing of plans to improve the generation at PTPS for the past few years.

Verma was in New Delhi recently to plead for additional power too.

“If the Jharkhand government and JSEB are finding it difficult to implement the plans to improve the PTPS, then they should hand it over to NTPC,” a JSEB official, quoting the CEA functionaries said.

CEA officials suggested that JSEB and NTPC could enter into an agreement that would make it mandatory for NTPC to meet the power requirements of the state from PTPS.

Of the installed capacity of 840MW, PTPS is able to generate between 40 and 110MW a day. A majority of the units are non-functional and the state government has done precious little to make these units functional again.

Verma admitted that the CEA had placed the proposal. “It is for the state government to decide on such matters. But we have to think about the fate of the 1,800 employees (approx) attached to PTPS. If we hand over the plant to NTPC, what will these employees do?” Verma said.

The JSEB chairman claimed that he would be able to turn around the PTPS in a short time. “I have asked two senior board officials to camp at PTPS to ensure that the plant’s generation improves,” he added.

However, a section of the JSEB feels that the plant be handed over to NTPC. “Recently, the Bihar government had taken a similar step for its thermal power plant at Kanti,” said an official.