First BHEL-built 500 MW set marks two decades of Establishment of Technology for 500 MW sets in India

New Delhi, February 21: The first 500 MW thermal power generating set manufactured by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), has completed 20 years of superlative performance at NTPC’s Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station (STPS) in Uttar Pradesh.

Completely designed, engineered, manufactured, tested, supplied, erected and commissioned by BHEL, the highly productive, flawless operation of the set, has reaffirmed the faith placed in the company’s capabilities by the Govt. of India as well as the customer, leading to several repeat orders for 500 MW sets.

Significantly, despite being the company’s first indigenously manufactured 500 MW set, it has performed consistently and has generated nearly 68 Billion Units of power (till 31/03/06). Even in its twentieth year of operation (2005-06), the unit registered an impressive Plant Load Factor (PLF) and Operating Availability (OA) of 93.8% and 95.8%, respectively. The Govt. of India has also recognized Singrauli’s efficient performance, by way of the Ministry of Power’s Meritorious Productivity Award, which the station has been winning consecutively since 1990-91.

This also marks the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of a new technology for manufacture of 500 MW sets in the country, with the Singrauli unit setting the benchmark for subsequent 500 MW sets. The saga of success has since continued unabated with the number of BHEL’s 500 MW sets in operation rising to 27 (cumulative capacity of 23,500 MW) and sets under execution to 20. By eliminating the country’s dependence on imports for power equipment of this rating, this has also highlighted the imperatives of technology transfer in the national interest and benefits thereof.

Having demonstrated its track record in successfully establishing new technologies to serve the nation’s power sector, BHEL is now poised to introduce 800 MW thermal sets with supercritical parameters. BHEL has equipped itself to produce thermal power equipment for 800MW sets and above, suited to Indian conditions, using Indian as well as imported coal.

Aimed at gearing up to meet the country's capacity addition targets towards the agenda of providing ‘Power to all by 2012’, BHEL has invested more than Rs.12,000 Million for holistic modernization and capacity expansion of its facilities from 6,000 MW per annum at present to 10,000 MW per annum. BHEL also has plans to further increase its capacity to 15,000 MW as required by the country’s power sector in the eleventh five-year plan.