OREANDA-NEWS. Continuing the commissioning trend in the last quarter of FY 2014-15, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully commissioned the second 500 MW unit at Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TPS). The first 500 MW unit of the project was commissioned by BHEL on 10th March, 2015. Tuticorin TPS has been set up by NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL), a joint venture of Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO).

The project is situated near the Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) port on the shore of the Bay of Bengal. Earlier stages of Tuticorin TPS comprise five units of 210 MW, all installed by BHEL in three phases between 1979 and 1992. The BTG, Civil and BoP order for two 500 MW sets was placed on BHEL by NTPL reflecting the customer's confidence in the company's technological excellence and capabilities in executing such projects. Recently, BHEL had commissioned second unit of NLC's 250 MW circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) based power plant at Neyveli.

The other project being executed by BHEL for NLC is the prestigious, 2x500 MW pulverized lignite fired thermal power plant, also coming up at Neyveli, which is the highest rating set of its kind in the country. Notably, BHEL commissioned 8,230 MW in the power sector utility segment in the country during the financial year 2014-15, surpassing Govt. of India's capacity addition target of 6,914 MW set for BHEL, by 19%.

In all, BHEL commissioned/synchronized 11,941 MW in domestic and international markets during 2014-15, besides making major contribution to another 1600 MW by commissioning two boilers of 800 MW each.

Significantly, BHEL's installed capacity has crossed 155 GW, including 132 GW of domestic utility sets and the company has joined the elite club of international manufacturers that have supplied power generating equipment of more than 150 GW. BHEL-make 500 MW sets of this rating class today form the backbone of the Indian power sector and have been performing much above the national average as well as international benchmarks.

BHEL has already established its engineering prowess in the past through successfully delivering higher-rated units such as 600 MW, 660 MW and 800 MW thermal sets, having a high degree of indigenization.