Indian Bureaucracy PSU Update: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commenced commercial operation of its first 800 MW unit – highest-rating coal-based supercritical thermal power plant. The milestone was achieved for the first unit of the 2×800 MW Yeramarus thermal power station of Raichur Power Corporation Limited (RPCL), in Raichur district of Karnataka.
Significantly, the commercial operation of this unit also marks BHEL’s foray as a developer into the field of power generation. Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) and BHEL are the main equity partners of RPCL, the owner and operator of this power plant.
BHEL did complete design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of this state-of-the-art supercritical project on turnkey basis. It has supplied all the critical equipment like Boiler, Turbine & Generators, Electricals, key packages of Balance of Plant, and has also carried out the associated civil works. The major equipment for the project has been manufactured by BHEL at its Haridwar, Trichy, Bhopal, Ranipet, Hyderabad, Jhansi, Thirumayam and Bengaluru plants, while the construction of the plant was undertaken by the company’s Power Sector- Southern Region.
BHEL has supplied and executed 4,010 MW of coal based sets for KPCL and its joint ventures, which account for 95% of the utility’s coal-based installed capacity. BHEL is also presently executing KPCL’s first gas-based combined cycle power project of 370 MW capacity involving a fuel-efficient advanced-class gas turbine at Yelahanka, Bengaluru.
BHEL is the market leader in both the subcritical as well as the supercritical segments in the country. The company has secured orders for 48 supercritical Steam Generators (SG) and 41 supercritical Steam Turbine Generators (STG) – the highest in the country by any power equipment manufacturer. Of these, 12 SG and 10 STG have already achieved capacity addition. BHEL’s contribution of nearly 60% of the total power generated in the country bears testimony to the superlative performance of BHEL’s equipment.