Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power Plant

The Kahalgaon power station is a 2340 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in Bhagalpur, Bihar state.

Background
The power station is owned by Bihar State Electricity Board and National Thermal Power Corporation.

Coal supply problems
A March 2012 article in the Indian Express described coal shortages at the Kahalgaon plant and others across India:
 * Two projects that were perennially short on coal through whole of last year were NTPC Ltd’s 2,340 MW Kahalgaon station in Bihar and the 2,100 MW Farakka station in West Bengal. The irony is that while Kahalgaon is located right on the pithead (at the coal mine itself, so that there is no need to transfer the coal to the plant), Farakka is not too far. And both are among stations that form the backbone of the eastern region’s generation sector. While the Farakka station has infrastructure in place to operate at over 90 per cent plant load factor, the utility is mostly operating at only 70 per cent because of the short supply of coal. The shortfall in domestic supplies is being made up by imports, which, in turn, jacks up tariffs. The problem here is that most coal reserves in the east are located in Maoist-infested areas. A senior government official says that the entire coal mining value chain in the eastern region is ridden with trade unionism and gangs who pilfer coal, especially from easy targets that include public sector firms or smaller private power producers. The head of a mid-sized state-owned generation firm has repeatedly been complaining about local Coal India employees colluding with middlemen to siphon off his fuel. “The coal mafia is strong and there is absolutely no guarantee that coal will reach the designated consumer, despite assurances from Kolkata (where Coal India is headquartered) or New Delhi,” the official says. With the coal crisis showing little sign of a resolution, despite the Prime Minister’s intervention, utilities across the country have been instructed to make design changes in all future coal-fired projects to enable higher imported coal blending. However, running power plants on imported coal involves an entirely different challenge."

Expansion proposal
The Bihar State Electricity Board reports that an expansion of 500 MW was approved by the SIPB in its meeting on March 26, 2007, that 600 acres of land were identified at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district, and that an application was submitted to the Ministry of Coal for a coal block allocation. The report states, "Progress has not been reported by firm."

Project Details
Sponsor: Location: Kahalgaon, Bhagalpur district, Bihar Coordinates: 25.2369032, 87.2655952 (exact) Status: Uncertain Nameplate capacity: 2,340 existing MW; 500 MW proposed expansion Type: Projected in service: Coal Type: Coal Source: Estimated annual CO2: Source of financing:

Related SourceWatch articles

 * India and coal

External resources

 * "Coal-Fired Plants Financed by International Public Investment Institutions Since 1994", Appendix to Foreclosing the Future: Coal, Climate and International Public Finance: Investment in coal-fired power plants hinders the fight against global warming, Environmental Defense, April 2009