NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 13, 2024: Mr R.K. Singh, Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, virtually graced the inaugural ceremony of the Indian Power Stations O&M Conference (IPS 2024) hosted by NTPC in Raipur on Tuesday.
The flagship event commemorates the historic commissioning of the first unit of NTPC at Singrauli in 1982, marking a pivotal moment in the power sector’s trajectory, leading to decades of innovation and excellence.
Mr Singh, while appreciating NTPC’s contributions to the power sector said, “NTPC’s reputation for efficiency, and reliability has been well established, and I envision the company doubling its capacity from current 73+ GW to 150 GW.” He further added, “Today, NTPC has emerged as the one of the best and largest PSUs in India. I envision NTPC to become a global, multi-national entity operating its power plants worldwide.”
He also stressed on the importance of timely completion of under-construction projects and reduction of forced outage to meet the rising demand of electricity, highlighting NTPC’s pivotal role in driving India’s economic growth.
While referring to Energy Transition, he said that it should not be worrying as both thermal and renewable shall coexist. The world is not against coal-based power. However, for our current and upcoming coal-based plants, it is the need of hour to develop mechanism to ensure increasing efficiency while reducing emission.
He further said that the country as big as ours needs more nuclear capacity. The JV of NTPC and NPCIL must strive to add nuclear capacity as fast as possible, which will pave the way for seamless flexibilisation.
The Minister released the IPS 2024 E-Compendium, Steam Turbine E-Learning Module, Boilerpedia and inaugurated Vikalp, a unique ash-brick made from industrial byproducts.
Mr Pankaj Agarwal, Secretary (Power), who also addressed on Virtual mode emphasised on sustainable O&M practices. Mr Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson (CEA), talked about the importance of safety protocols, while adapting to AI-driven applications for cost-effective solutions in power plants.
Mr Gurdeep Singh, CMD, NTPC said that the first unit at Singrauli which is operating at almost 100% PLF even after 42 years of its synchronization is a testament to NTPC’s excellence in O&M practices.
Among others, Mr D.K. Patel, Director (HR), Mr Jaikumar Srinivasan, Director (Finance), Mr Shivam Srivastava, Director (Fuel), Mr Vidyadhar Vaishampayan, Independent Director, and Ms. Sangitha Varier, Independent Director, former Directors, REDs, senior officials of NTPC and SEBs were present on the occasion. Shri K.S. Sundaram, Director (Operation and Projects) presented vote-of-thanks.
Under the theme “O&M Practices for Safe, Reliable & Cost-Effective Power Generation,” IPS 2024 serves as a platform for industry leaders to engage in collaborative discussions to explore innovative strategies to enhance safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness in power generation.
The occasion also witnessed presentation of accolades such as the Swarn Shakti Awards (2022-2023) and Business Excellence Awards (2023-2024), recognising the outstanding contributions of NTPC power stations.
NTPC Talcher Kaniha claimed the coveted title of Overall Champion (Winner) of the Swarn Shakti Award, while NTPC Vindhyachal secured the position of Overall Champion (Runner-Up). Additionally, in the Business Excellence Awards category, NTPC Vindhyachal was honoured with the Champion and Overall Excellence Award.
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