AGARTALA, December 12 (TIWN): CMD of North Eastern Electric Power Corp (NEEPCO) P.C. Pankaj meets Power minister Manik Dey and discussed the issues related to Monarchak power plant and Ramchandranagar power project at Civil Secretariat, here today.Speaking to the reporters at civil secretariat CMD of North Eastern Electric Power Corp (NEEPCO) P.C. Pankaj, said that the ambitious combined cycle electric power project at Monarchak and extended combined cycle power plant of Ramchandranagar in west Tripura will start its commercial production in March 2015.The new combined cycle power plant at Ramchandranagar, 25 km from here, is the second of its kind after the Kathalguri gas-based combined cycle project in eastern Assam, he added.It is to be mentioned here that the existing 84-MW natural gas-based Ramchandranagar power project is going changed in a combined cycle power plant which will produce more 51-MW. So the total power production of Ramchandranagar power project will be 135 MW.Initially, the NEEPCO had prepared DPR to set up a 500 MW gas-based power generation project at Monarchak way back in 2003. Later, the installed capacity was reduced to 280 MW and lastly it was reduced to only 101 MW after the ONGC failed to assure sufficient gas supply to NEEPCO.

NEEPCO is currently contributing 1,130 MW power including thermal and hydroelectric power across all states of the NE region. A total of 927 MW installed capacity is currently under construction including 60 MW project in Mizoram, 5 MW solar power plant at Manarchak project site in Tripura, 600 MW plant at Kameing in Arunachal Pradesh, 52 MW extension project of the Agartala Gas Turbine Project (AGTP) etc.