Bhubaneswar, Sept. 8: The state government today sought 33 per cent free power from National Thermal Power Corporation-run thermal plants located in the state.

'Coal-bearing states such as Odisha are facing the negative fallouts of coal mining and thermal power stations. Therefore, the Centre should consider 25 per cent to 33 per cent free power from the coal-fired thermal stations to the host states,' said chief minister Naveen Patnaik during his meeting with Union power secretary Ajay Bhalla at the secretariat today.

Naveen also asked for de-allocation of 'costly' power from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)-run thermal power stations located outside Odisha.

'Allocations from NTPC plants within the state and the other thermal power plants of the state are adequate and there is no requirement of additional power from the NTPC plants located outside the state,' he said.

Naveen also urged the Centre to expedite finalisation of the standard bidding document for the 4,000MW project to be set up at Bedabahal in Sundargarh district.

The bidding document for that has been pending for approval for more than three years, he said. Sources said Odisha would get more power in its share once the proposed project was commissioned.

The major defaulters include housing and urban development and rural development departments.

The state now has access to adequate power. The average availability of power is 3,350MW a day while the demand hovers around 3,300MW. The peak availability of power now stands at 4,005MW as compared to the requirement of 4,000MW.

With the state receiving adequate rainfall this year, the major reservoirs are almost full. Consequently, the hydroelectricity power stations are now generating adequate electricity, which are cheaper.

The state had witnessed power scarcity last summer when the water level in its reservoirs had fallen drastically forcing it to rely more on the costlier thermal power.

'If there is shortfall, we need to procure electricity from other states through power exchange schemes and purchase electricity from captive power plants in the state,' said energy minister Prafulla Kumar Mallick.

To make the state self-reliant in the power sector, the Grid Corporation of Odisha (Gridco) has signed power purchase agreements with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC), ultra-mega power plants and various independent power producers, he said. But purchasing power turns out very costly for the state government.