NTPC Forms Internal Committee To Probe Unchahar Plant Blast
The committee, headed by NTPC General Manager SK Roy , will submit its report in a month.
NTPC Ltd. has formed an internal committee to probe the blast at its 500-MW unit at its Unchahar coal-fired power station in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, which claimed 32 lives and injured around 100 others, Chairman Gurdeep Singh said today.
The country’s largest power producer’s unit number 6 at the 1,550-MW plant, which was commissioned in March this year, had reported an explosion in the furnace beneath the boiler on Wednesday. NTPC had said yesterday that the unit has been shut.
Singh said the management had reached the location on Nov. 1 and oversaw the details. “We have shifted 12 persons who are critical from Lucknow to Delhi's Apollo and Safdarjung hospital,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
The internal committee, headed by NTPC General Manager SK Roy, will submit its report in a month.
The committee will go through the minute details and examine what went wrong. We have asked BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.) to send their experts on the site too.Gurdeep Singh, Chairman, NTPC
Singh also said that the material used in the unit was manufactured and designed by BHEL, which will be replaced.
“BHEL and NTPC both are discussing how soon we can revive the unit. Some of the material will have to be manufactured and supplied again. It will take 3-6 months," he said.
What Caused The Blast
Whenever there is some change in the coal being fired in the boiler, at times there is some bottom ash which is evacuated from beneath of the furnace, Singh explained, adding that some kind of accumulation of ash was noticed. Pressure went up and machine had tripped. Economiser section got opened up.
The opening up of economiser section of the boiler caused ash content to release and people working nearby got affected.
But Singh declined to comment on what actually caused the accident and whether there was some human error. “Saying what actually happened is not correct unless we have completely analysed report by experts. We will take corrective actions whether they were design related,” he said.
