NTPC commissions 800 MW unit of Kudgi TPP and scraps solar auction

NTPC Limited has commissioned the second 800 MW unit of the Kudgi supercritical power station in Karnataka. Karnataka as the host state will receive 400 MW while the remaining power will be shared among the other southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Work on the third unit of the project is at an advanced stage and is likely to be completed by June 2018. In a separate development, NTPC has scrapped the result of its 250 MW solar auction held in October 2017 conducted under the domestic content requirement (DCR) category owing to its variance with World Trade Organization norms. The auction was won by Azure Power Global Limited, which quoted a tariff of Rs 3.14 per unit. As per the norms, DCR projects can be set up if the power is bought entirely by public sector enterprises or government departments for their own use but cannot be sold to state discoms, which would resell it to retail consumers. However, NTPC’s tender mentioned the New Delhi Municipal Corporation, which engages in retail supply of electricity, as the power procurer.