NTPC Ramagundam


NTPC Ramagundam, a part of National Thermal Power Corporation, is a 2600 MW Power station situated at Ramagundam in Peddapalli district in the Indian state of Telangana, India. It is the current largest power station in South India. It is the first ISO 14001 certified "Super Thermal Power Station" in India.

The TG Hall

The TG Hall or the Turbo-Generator hall or the Turbine-Generator Hall is the hall or space where the turbine-generator sets are present.
NTPC Ltd., Ramagundam has two TG Halls one for STAGE-I and the other common for STAGE-II and STAGE-III. These TG halls are equipped with heavy overhead cranes that assist in transportation of material within the TG hall. These cranes find their use greatly during overhauls.

Unit-wise power generation

The whole plant is divided into 3 stages, each stage being planned at one time.

STAGE 1 (3×200 MW)

This stage consists of three units each with a generation capacity of 200 MW. The turbines for these three units were manufactured by The Ansaldo Energia Ltd.
The construction began in the late 1970s and these units have performed well over a long period setting many records regarding maintenance and generation over the other two stages.BUT stage cwp motors are manufactured by BHEL and all motors are manufactured by Ansaldo. S-I coal mill motors are 240 KW and PA fans are 400 KW.

STAGE 2 (3×500 MW)

This stage again consists of three units each with a generation capacity of 500MW. The turbines for these three units were manufactured by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited.

Stage 3 (1×500 MW)

This stage comprises only one unit. This is a first of its kind in South India being a computer operated unit. A wide disparity may be seen between the control rooms of the other two stages and this computerised unit. To this day, many Power plant engineers train in this unit to upgrade themselves to this new mode of operation. This unit also has the tallest chimney in India.

Overhauls

Once in two years, these units are stopped and overhauled, one unit at a time. The overhauls are usually taken up during the months June to September as the monsoons activate hydel power generation which substitute the power generation lost due to the overhaul of the unit. The same practice is followed all through the country. The overhauls usually take 15 to 20 days per unit provided there is no major repair involved. Major repairs include turbine casing, turbine rotor damage and other damages that require transporting the equipment to another location. The overhauls are the dissipators of the annual PLF of any power plant.

Generation distribution

States

As NTPC Ltd. is a Public Sector Undertaking, the generation is almost uniformly distributed to 5–6 states all of them sharing about 20–25 percent of the Generation. The States include:
The substation is the place where the station last takes care of the power it produces. The switchyard links the power generated to the southern power grid. The major transmission points are:

Water

The power station gets its water periodically released from the SRSP- Sriram Sagar project. This water is stored in the balance reservoir. The water level in the balance reservoir is monitored daily.

Coal

NTPC Ramagundam is a Thermal Power Station and hence uses coal. This coal is available at a large scale from the Singareni Coal mining company nearby and is transported using the MGR system wherein, a train comes on one rail route, delivers coal and returns on another route. The hopper wagons arriving by this route are taken for coal collection wherein a mechanism provided underneath the wagons opens on application of air pressure and drops the coal it is carrying. A separate department handles this process.
Coal also arrives by the Indian Railways. The open wagons are routed via Ramagundam railway station to the separate plant line and these wagons arrive at the wagon tippler. The wagons arriving in this manner must be tilted at the wagon tippler to unload the coal as they do not have the drop mechanism underneath.

Other petroleum products required

The station also requires various oils for the following purposes:
These are periodically purchased as per requirement from the Indian oil corporation IOCL establishment nearby.

Departments

The plant classifies its departments as O&M and Non-O&M.
Departments under O&M

Operation

The operation department has the maximum number of employees. It takes care of operation of the various equipments and controls in the plant. The operation department takes care of the unit control rooms. A power plant operates 24×7 so, the operation department works in shifts to take care of the units at all times.

Electrical Maintenance

This is the largest department under the Maintenance section. This department takes care of all the electrical aspects of the plant. It takes care of the following sections

Civil Maintenance takes care of all the civil activities in the plant such as non-mechanical constructions, maintenance of locations, scrap removal and ensuring a proper working condition of minor equipments.

MGR(Merry-go-Round) Department

This dept. takes care of the coal transport to the plant.

CHP (Coal Handling Plant)

This dept. takes care of all coal handling processes.
This dept. has the following sections

Boiler Maintenance
Turbine Maintenance
This department deals with the maintenance of various control devices and instruments. It is considered to be a part of the maintenance section.
It has got the following sections.
1.Boi
3.Turbine C&I

Departments under non-O&M

The plant is headed by the Executive Director to whom the GM's report. The O&M group being reported by the Chief of General Managers again to whom the GMs of concerned departments report.

Township

NTPC, Ramagundam has a very beautiful and a serene township. The TTS is the temporary township constructed during the early stages of the plant. It is now resided by the secondary employees of the organisation
The PTS is the permanent township where most of the employees reside with their families. It is known for its serenity, cleanliness, vegetation and its parks.

Schools

The township has three schools. Kendriya Vidyalaya, NTPC Ramagundam, St.Claire High school and the Sachdeva school of excellence.

Shopping

The township has a main shopping centre and Four small shopping centres where the residents may shop for groceries and other regular needs.

Facilities

The township is well facilitated with banking, postal services, telephone and internet services, adequate water supply, 24×7 electricity right from the plant, civil services and its own security.
TSRTC-Godavarikhani bus depot runs city and long distance buses from NTPC busstop to Ramagundam railway station and various neighbourhood areas.

Guest Houses and Restaurants

There are two Guest houses. Jyothi bhavan for executives, Godavari Bhavan for other employees, students and trainees and Satavahana Restaurant for the families. These are maintained by the Indian Coffee House employees and are equipped with dining facilities thus forming as restaurants for the township residents.

Parks

The township has beautiful parks namely the Ambedkar park, the Chacha Nehru park, the priyadarshini park and other small parks.