NMDC commissions 220KV GIS at upcoming Nagarnar plant

NMDC’s upcoming steel plant at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh’s poverty-hit Bastar district took the first decisive step towards commissioning by starting the 220KV GIS (Gas Insulated Switch) Main Receiving Sub-station recently.

Prashant Dash, Executive Director, Nagarnar Iron and Steel Plant, switched on the Operational Power receiving system in the presence of senior officials of NISP and MECON, the consultancy partner, workers’ representatives and GE, India officials.

It may be mentioned that the steel plant project gathered momentum after Baijendra Kumar, IAS, took over as CMD in September last year. Several packages that were delayed were expeditiously taken up and work accelerated with renewed enthusiasm under his leadership.

The GIS system at the steel plant’s Main Receiving Station (MRS) has been imported from France and set up by GE, India at a cost of Rs. 140 crore.

The noteworthy feature of this System is that it requires low maintenance and also needs just about a fourth of the land required to set up a conventional power sub-station system.

The System is designed to receive power from Chhattisgarh State Power Transmission Corporation Limited’s (CSPTCL) sub-station at Parchanpal, Bastar and distribute it to different units of steel plant by Plant Power Distribution System (PPDS) through overhead cable gallery system. The PPDS is also expected to be in place within the next fortnight.

Of the steel plant’s total power requirement of 296MW, NMDC proposes to take 241 MW from the grid through CSPTCL while the balance will be generated in-house.