Bengal’s thermal power stations among the best
The Union Ministry of Power’s list of the most efficient power plants in the April-August 2021 period, in terms of power generation, saw three thermal power plants from Bengal make it to the top 10—the ones in Santaldih, Budge Budge and Bakreswar.
Two government thermal power stations and another private one in Bengal have bagged positions among the top 10 in the country as being the most efficient in terms of power generation during the period of April-August 2021, by the Union Ministry of Power’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
The Santaldih Thermal Power Station, belonging to the state-owned West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL), in fact, has been ranked as the number one amongst all thermal power plants in the country.
Another WBPDCL plant, the Bakreswar Thermal Power Station, has been ranked 10th nationally. A private thermal power plant, the CESC’s Budge Budge Thermal Power Station is the second best in the state, being ranked third in the country, up from fifth in April-July.
The Santaldih thermal power station achieved a 92.79 per cent plant load factor (PLF), which stands as the highest in the country. The number was only 69.63 per cent a year back, that is, in April-August 2020, when it had been ranked 31st among all thermal power stations in the country.
This ranking comes when the WBPDCL has achieved a record profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 252 crore during the financial year (FY) 2020-21, up from only Rs 15.48 crore during FY 2019-20. The FY 2020-21, thus, saw the highest-ever generation of power by the WBPDCL since its inception.
During FY 2020-21, the utility recorded the generation of 23.87 billion units of power, exceeding the previous highest generation of 23.85 billion units during FY 2014-15.
