Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation to spend Rs 300 crore to revamp 250MW Kutch power plant

AHMEDABAD: State-run Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) will invest Rs 300 crore to maximize power generation at its 250MW Akrimota (Kutch) power plant.
The plant has been an underperformer for the last 16 years and has one of the cheapest power purchase agreements (PPA) with GUVNL due to this. The state government has allowed capital pass-through to GMDC and the company will start the procedure for a revised PPA at around Rs 3.20 per unit.
GMDC managing director Roopwant Singh said, "We have a total of 250MW (2x125) power generation capacity at Akrimota in Lakhpat taluka of Kutch, but the plant load factor (PLF) is only 37% and it has been under performing for the last 16 years. We made a representation to the state government to refurbish the plant and the state government has allowed capital pass-through. We will refurbish the plant in the next fiscal (2023-24) and will achieve 75%-85% PLF. We will invest Rs 300 crore to increase utilization of this installed capacity."
He added that GMDC is one of the cheapest power suppliers to GUVNL, and with the plant reaching at least 200MW of power generation, GUVNL will get more electricity at cheaper prices.
The Akrimota power plant uses lignite and was an ambitious forward integration project of GMDC but has remained an underperformer. The company believes the new investment will change this.
Singh said GMDC will spend Rs 800 crore in 2023-24 to acquire land for six new lignite projects which have total reserves of more than 350 million tonnes. "Ground breaking at all these projects will start in 12-18 months and these new sites will help us increase our peak rated capacity to 14.5 million tonnes per year in three years. This was 8.5 million tonnes last fiscal."