Centre asks NTPC to produce more power

 ​Noida: Power Minister R K Singh Thursday asked state-owned energy producers like NTPC and DVC to secure more coal mines to augment electricity generation as thermal power will continue to be the base electricity provider in the country.

The minister also assured incentives in the form of higher tariff for the thermal power generators for balancing the power supply after influx of more and more renewables in the electricity grid as the clean source of energy will not generate power round the clock.  "Thermal capacity is a constraint and we need to do something about it as NTPC. The NTPC, DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) and all these (generating) companies will need to adapt to mining coal. 

I think that need to be set right. Your (generating companies) coal mining wing has to be strengthened," Singh said while addressing a conference "Power Plant Flexibility: Paving way for Green Grid" organised by NTPC.  These companies are required to operationalise all the mines they have and there is a need to get more mines. Currently, coal is an issue. There are so many plants which are idle because they do not have coal. So, coal is a constraint and that is another reason why renewables will increase.