AGARTALA, December 8 (TIWN): OTPC Palatana Gas based Thermal Power Project Unit I is under maintenance now, whereas the Unit – II is running without any hindrance to generate power. The Palatana Gas based thermal power project is now running under the unscheduled interchange (UI). Though, earlier the power generation from both the units were 300 to 350 MW each.Talking to TIWN today, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) Tripura Asset Manager V.P. Mahawar said that the Palatana OTPC gas based thermal power project Unit – I is facing some problems and under maintenance now. Asked about the Unit-II, Mr. Mahawar said that the Unit -II is running without any hindrance to generate power.However later talking to TIWN today Power Minister Manik Dey informed that a routine checkup is undergoing in Palatana OTPC Unit – I, therefore the Unit-I is shutdown now for the time being. And following this the state govt. is buying addition power from the central pole to fill up the gap of the power of OTPC Unit- I, said Manik Dey.

While briefing the gas supply to the OTPC Palatana Gas based Thermal Power Project, Mr. Mahawar said that the currently the ONGC is supplying a total of 26.5 lakh Cubic Metric Ton of gas  to both the units. 

He also said that there is no chance of further disruption in the gas supply, as earlier it already happened and it was learned lesson for the ONGC.

However to mention here, earlier after the launching of the first unit of the Palatana OTPC, the ONGC Tripura Power Company powered Palatana power project faced a major crisis relating to gas supplies ahead of commercial production in the plant’s second unit. Following which the ONGC had taken a steps to install cyclone separator in the 53 Km gas pipeline that helps to bring down heavy particles to come down for easy flow of gas through the pipe. ONGC has spent Rs. 2 crore in bringing the gas crisis under control, said Mahawar earlier.

On December 1, 2014 Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned the second unit of Palatana OTPC gas based thermal power project.  

The first unit, with an installed capacity of 363.13MW, had earlier been inaugurated on June 21 last year by President Pranab Mukherjee though at the time of inauguration, the first unit could generate only 81MW.

ONGC's Rs 10,000-crore power and gas production project in Tripura, is the company's biggest investment in a single location in northeastern India, and may sell electricity to neighbouring Bangladesh. Two power units of 726.6 MW capacity are ready and being synchronised to supply power to seven states in the northeast. After states' quota, about 98 MW electricity will be surplus and could be sold on commercial terms to any interested party including Bangladesh.

The ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) on March 16 earlier this year started pre-commissioning check-up of second turbine of the 726.6 MW thermal power plant. The plant is powered by two turbines each capable of generating 326 MW power.

OTPC signed a gas sale and purchase agreement with ONGC for supplying 2.65 million metric standard cubic meters gas per day. The agreement would be valid for 15 years against the assumed power plant’s life span of 25 years, with a provision of further extension by another 10 years.

The plant’s first unit is capable of injecting 8.7 million units of power per day in the grid. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) granted provisional tariff for the first unit. The Ministry of Power allocated over 85 percent of the total power generated from the plant to the beneficiary states of the region. Assam is scheduled to get 240 MW, Tripura is entitled to get 196 MW out of the entire production; 79 MW for Meghalaya; 42 MW for Manipur, 27 MW for Nagaland and 22 MW for each of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. 98 MW of the entire production was allocated for merchant sales under OTPC authorization. There are also proposals from Tripura to sell power from the plant to the power-deficit Bangladesh as well. Though it has not been fixed yet that from whose part the power will supplied to Bangladesh.