Abysmally low level of water in the Farakka Feeder Canal has caused the National Thermal Power Corporation to shut down five units of its power plant at Farakka in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The five units together have a combined generating capacity of 1600 MW and the shutdown is likely to affect Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and industry in the Eastern Region. Describing the dip in water level as “unprecedented”, the NTPC said, “This is the first time in the last decade when NTPC has been forced to switch off all the Stage I and II units together for water scarcity.”

The plant produces 2100 MW in all and the shutdown severely affects its output. The lone 500 MW sixth unit of Stage III has been somehow kept running with reduced house load of around 200 MW on emergency basis. For full load operation, the 2100 MW Plant needs continuous availability of around 225000 cubic meter of water per hour with a depth of around 20 m in water level in the intake channel.

Did You Know?

• NTPC Limited is an Indian Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, engaged in the business of generation of electricity and allied activities.
• It is a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 and a “Government Company” within the meaning of the act.
• The headquarters of the company is situated at New Delhi.
• The company also undertakes consultancy and turnkey project contracts that involve engineering, project management, construction management and operation and management of power plants.