KPCL RAICHUR THERMAL POWER STATION:

Karnataka Power Corporation Limited also known as Raichur Thermal Power Plant.

In my Introduction I have also referred about the Thermal Power Plant project which was commenced at the banks of the River Krishna, now called Shakti Nagar. The foundation of this plant was layed by Shri. N. Sanjiva Reddy, the then President of India on 18th January 1980. Winds of change are blowing with the establishment of this Thermal Plant project and shall glorify the pages of History. It will not only illuminate and supply electric power to hundreds of towns and villages in the Deccan but also boost the establishment of Big and small industries in this area and open a new era of prosperity and progress, economically, socially and educationally.

Hydro-electric power generation has been the mainstay of Karnataka in its programme for economic and industrial development. Vagaries of monsoon and the consequent poor rain fall have often affected hydro power generation. Realising that the total dependence on hydro-electric power generation was not desirable for a state with rapid growth rate, alternative sources for generation were considered. The Mysore Power Corporation embarked on a study to explore the possibilities of establishing a Thermal Plant. Such a Thermal Plant will not only augment the power supply for the state but will also provide a variety in the sources of power generation. Strategic location for coal movement, speedy execution of the project, availability of water were all factors which were considered for location of the Thermal Plant site. Detailed investigations revealed that a site near Raichur Town was most suitable. The credit for selecting Raichur, inspite of efforts from other quarters for other places, goes to Shri Devaraj Urs, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka State. Based on the data available, a detailed project report was conceived and approval of the Govt. of India / Planning commission was obtained in the year 1978 for instituting the plant near Raichur.

Located on the banks of the River Krishna near Edlapur village 18 kms away from Raichur city, the Raichur Thermal plant started its first phase, 2 units each generating 210 MW of power. The plant is planned for development in stages and will ultimately generate 1260 MW. About 3000 acres of land have been acquired for the power station. The site, closed to the National High-way and the rail, is also ideally suited for the point of view of water availability form Krishna River. The requirement of coal for the operation of two units in the first phase is placed at 1.44 million tons per year and the entire supply has been assured by the Singareni collieries (Bellampalli Coal fields) in Andhra Pradesh. The collieries is situated about 550 kms from the stie and coal will be transported in rail wagons upto Railway siding specially near the plant site Infact the Thermal plant was conceived for construction near Raichur.

Thanks to the assurance extended by Singareni Collieries that sufficient supply of coal will be maintained taking into consideration the total requirement after completion of the final stage with total installed capacity of 1260 MW.

Water drawn from the Krishns River which flows adjacent to the Project, will serve the Plant. The cooling water system of re-circulating type incorporating six cooling towers in the final phase. 150 Cusecs of water will be ultimately required and the supply has been ensured from the storage on the up stream of the site. This quantity includes requirements of Boiler Colony and miscellaneous services for the entire plant. The water supply will have purification plants of the required capacity and demineralising plants of 13? M per hour capacity.

The production of ash by each unit under full load conditions on 8 hour basis is estimated at 77 tonns of ‘bottom’ ash and 315 tonnes of fly ash. Ash will be removed by jet pumppneumatic system and slurry pumps for disposal. The ash will be disposed off in an area of about 193 hecatares reserved for the purpose towards the north side of the Plant area.

A centralized automatic and safe instrumentation and plant control system to achieve maximum efficiency, reliability and availability is being provided. The system will also enable comprehensive presentation of plant operation status, trend, efficiency guidance and event analysis. As a supplement to the conventional information system, a data acquisition system utilizing digital computers is planned to be incorporated.

Turbo generator sets of 247,000 KVT capacity along with the stream boilers and auxillary equipment are being manufactured by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., estimated at cost of Rs. 85 Crores.

The total cost of the first stage of the project is estimated at Rs.197 Crores. The first unit is scheduled for commissioning by the end of 1985.

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