Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has secured orders, cumulatively valued at Rs 4,614 crore, for setting up two supercritical thermal power projects involving one unit each of the country’s highest rating 800 MW sets, in Andhra Pradesh. The orders have reinforced BHEL’s position at the forefront of the power equipment suppliers in India.

The projects are 1 x 800 MW Dr Narla Tata Rao Thermal Power Station (Dr NTTPS) Stage-V of Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGENCO) and 1 x 800 MW Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station (SDSTPS) Stage-II, popularly known as Krishnapatnam Supercritical Thermal Power Project, of Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company Ltd (APPDCL). Both the projects are valued Rs 2,307 crore each.

BHEL's scope of work in the projects includes supply, erection and commissioning of boilers, turbines, generators and associated auxiliaries. To overcome the current uncertainty of coal supply, BHEL will supply its in-house developed fuel flexible boilers, which are capable of firing the entire range, from Indian as well as imported mix of coal. This design has been developed by BHEL with its vast experience of over five decades of working with various types of coal. This will provide security against variation in design coal and the coal actually available during operation, thereby offering operational flexibility to ensure uninterrupted generation of electricity.

Significantly, 6 units of 210 MW rating and 1 unit of 500 MW rating, all supplied earlier by BHEL, are in operation at Dr NTTPS, Vijaywada. Notably, the first unit of 210 MW at Vijayawada has been in operation since 1979.

At Krishnapatnam also, 2 units of 800 MW rating each are already in operation at stage-I of the project, where the steam generator package, including the electrostatic precipitators (ESP), has been supplied by BHEL. The commissioning of the 800 MW unit at Krishnapatnam Stage-I, the first 800 MW Supercritical Thermal Power Plant in the government sector, was a major breakthrough for the country in achieving self-reliance in the field of the latest supercritical technology.