TATA Power consider adding two more 800MW units to the UMPP Mundra project

Tata Power has plans to expand generation capacity of 4,000-MW Mundra plant, the country’s first operational ultra mega power project, to 5,600 MW, a company official said.

“Tata Power is exploring setting up additional two units of 800 MW each expanding the overall capacity of the Mundra power plant project from 4,000 MW to 5,600 MW,” the Executive Director and CEO of Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (CGPL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power executing the Mundra UMPP, Krishna Kumar Sharma, recently said.

He said that these two units are not covered through any existing arrangement for pricing and thus could participate in any new Case 1 bidding with imported coal.

Generally in Case 1 bidding, the developer decides on the fuel and location, among others. “As and when the Case 1 bidding is successful, these (proposed) two units will be contracted,” Sharma said.

Noting that the cost of generation would depend on the type of coal and capital costs, Sharma said that appropriate funding would be arranged.

“We are reviewing all our options before we can finalise on the project. As regards land, we had kept provision for future expansion of two units in the layout,” he added.

Currently, Mundra UMPP has five units of 800 MW each. Electricity produced from the plant is being supplied to five states — Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission ( CERC) in April had asked entities procuring power from Mundra UMPP to form an expert panel to decide on compensating the company for higher cost of coal imports from Indonesia.

The ruling came on CGPL plea that sought relief on account of adverse impact of the unforeseen, uncontrollable and unprecedented escalation in the imported coal price.