CHENNAI: Retiring the four-decade old 450 MW Ennore thermal power plant in North Chennai, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Sunday announced that a new 600 MW high-tech coal-fired electricity generation station would come up on the same premises by 2015 at a cost of `3,600 crore.In an official release here, the State government said the Ennore plant was unable to generate power to the optimum level due to ageing. “The five-unit plant was commissioned 40 years ago. Due to wear and tear, the facility is not producing power to the full capacity. Hence, the chief minister has ordered to decommission the plant and go in for an ultra modern thermal facility on the 90-acre plot,” the release said.According to sources, the Ennore plant would continue to be operated for some more time until the commissioning of new power projects such as the North Chennai Thermal Power Extension Project (2 x 600 MW) and the TNEB Limited-NTPC joint venture Vallur (1,500 MW) plant.Currently, the Ennore thermal power station is producing between 150 to 200 MW of power on an average. Though frequent disruptions in power production due to technical glitches had become a regular feature at Ennore, the TANGEDCO could not afford to shut the plant in view of the power shortage.Officials said that a detailed project report, environmental clearance, coal linkage guarantee and finalisation of bids were among the key tasks involved for setting up the new power plant. “The old facility could be decommissioned through the same bidder for the new project,” an official said.
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