Thermal Power Plants in India | List of Indian Thermal Plants

What is electricity?

Electricity is a source of energy and can be produced from natural minerals, water and fossil fuels. In addition, continuous attention is being given to the development and promotion of non-conventional, alternative, new and reusable sources of energy, such as solar, wind and bio energy, etc. The development of electricity in India started in the late 19th century. Electricity supply started in Darjeeling in 1897. In 1899 a thermal station was established in Calcutta.

Then after that in 1899 at Methur in Tamil Nadu and in 1902 at Shivasamudram in Karnataka the hydro-electric station started functioning. Before independence, electricity was mainly supplied by the private sector and this facility was also limited to a few cities. The Electricity Supply Act issued in 1948 and the formation of State Electricity Boards at various stages of the Five Year Plans was an important step towards the orderly development of the electricity supply industry across the country.

NTPC Limited: NTPC Limited (formerly National Thermal Power Corporation) is the largest power generating company in India. NTPC is ranked 400th in the World's 2000 Largest Companies for 2016. In May 2010, NTPC became a Maharatna company, one of the four companies honored to receive this status. It is a public sector company of India which is registered in Mumbai Stock Exchange. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) was established in 1975 for the maintenance of electricity in New Delhi.

National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) was established in 1975 with the aim of all-round development of hydropower. The main objectives of NHPC are to plan, promote and organize an integrated and efficient development of electricity in all its aspects through conventional and non-conventional resources in India and abroad, and for transmission, distribution, trading and distribution of electricity generated at stations. Including sales promotion.

The Electricity Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) was incorporated on 23rd October, 1989 to establish and operate regional and national electricity grids for transfer of electricity within and between different regions with reliability, safety and economy and on sound business principles. It was set up as a government establishment. Power Grid was notified as the Central Transmission Organization of the country in 1998. On May 1, 2008, Power Grid was awarded the Navratna status by the Government of India.

Thermal Power: Thermal power plants are the largest energy sources of electricity in India. In a thermal power plant, the chemical energy contained in fossil fuels (coal, fuel oil and natural gas) is converted into thermal energy, mechanical energy and finally electrical energy respectively. In the early stages of energy (power) development in India, thermal power stations were many small and widely dispersed units with very little network connection.

The establishment of four power stations of 60 MW each at Bokaro (Jharkhand) under the Damodar Valley Corporation project was the first step towards the development of thermal energy on a large scale in India. This power station was the forerunner of a wide range of thermal power stations that were later developed.

List of main thermal power stations of India:

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