How was the situation in the energy sector before, what changes are happening now, and how will it be in the future, sir? The energy sector has undergone a complete transformation in the coal sector over the past 10 years. Currently, we... This year, you received the Naiduamma Award given to those who have made significant contributions in the fields of science and technology. How do you feel about that? Naiduamma garu mainly focused his research on how the knowledge and technology development he acquired could be used for the common people. In the past, people were happy with just a few hours of electricity, but now we have reached a situation where we need 24-hour power. How do you see this demand and production? And what are the innovative actions being taken by the Honorable Minister for Coal and Mines, Kishan Reddy, in the coal sector? After becoming the Chairman and Managing Director of NLC, what achievements have you made, what stage has the organization reached, and what further programs do you plan to undertake? I believe that if you take care of people, people will take care of... There are allegations that thermal power stations emit pollution. What is the remedy to protect society and nature from this? In thermal power stations, coal or lignite is burned, so there are some emissions and pollution as you mentioned. But at the same time, for any country to progress, power is very crucial. We call it power or electricity. Today, whichever country has advanced in electricity generation, whichever country maintains and proves its efficiency, that country will lead and achieve effective progress in all sectors. Among these, a key industry in the country's electricity generation is NLC India Limited. This NLC India Limited, headquartered in Chennai, has a Telugu person as its Chairman and Managing Director, which is a matter of pride. He is with us to share the details of how the NLC company began its journey, what services it provides to the country, how it participates in the country's electricity generation, and what its role is in the nation's progress. We have with us the Chairman and Managing Director of NLC India Limited, Prasanna Kumar Motipalli garu. Namaste, sir. Please tell us, did you ever imagine that NLC India Limited would reach this level in the power sector? How did your journey begin?
I earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Andhra University with a gold medal. So, after completing engineering, I had many options; I had 13 appointment letters at once. Among them was NTPC. Because I was interested in the energy sector, I joined NTPC. After working at NTPC for 30 years, I worked as the Managing Director of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation for two years. After that, I was selected as the Chairman of NLC India Limited and have been working as the Chairman of NLC India for the past two and a half years. From the time I completed engineering, I have had a great passion and aspiration for the energy sector because, as you said, energy is very important for any country's prosperity. We measure our development on a per capita consumption basis. So, I have been interested in the energy sector from the beginning, and that's why I have continued in this sector.
How was the situation in the energy sector before, what changes are happening now, and how will it be in the future, sir?
If we look at the energy sector 10 years ago, in 2014, we had a power deficit scenario. You would have seen many power cuts, and villages got power for very little time. Over the past 10 years, there has been a complete transformation in the energy sector and the coal sector. Currently, we have reached an energy-sufficient scenario. The main reason for this is that we have been supplying sufficient coal to coal-based power stations, and due to transparent policies, we have reached this level. Last year, the country achieved a coal production of one billion tons, which happened for the first time since independence. This means we have moved from a power scarcity scenario to a power sufficient and power surplus scenario.
What are the resources used for thermal power production?
In the thermal power sector, as you said, coal, lignite, and gas all come under the category of thermal power plants. In our country, even though there are gas-based power stations, we don't have very high gas resources. Therefore, we generate the majority of our power from coal and lignite. If we take last year, we generated 72% of our total power requirement from thermal power stations. All other sources combined generated the remaining 28%. As you asked, our country's average per capita consumption today is only 1300 kilowatt-hours. If we take the global average, it is 3000, meaning we are not even half of the global average. We have set a target to become a developed country by 2047. The Honorable Prime Minister initiated the concept of Viksit Bharat 2047. To become a developed country by 2047, we must become energy independent and increase our per capita consumption to that level. If you take the current per capita consumption of a developed country like the USA, it is 12,450. Ours is 1300. So, to become a developed country by 2047, we need to increase our power generation and consumption by almost 8 to 9 times. That is a major challenge for us.
You mentioned lignite and coal. What is the difference between lignite and coal? Which one produces more? What are the differences during production?
Coal and lignite belong to the same family. As you know, coal formation happened in ancient times when forest wood submerged and pressure was maintained on them, leading to different stages of evolution. The first stage is peat. Peat is almost like wood and doesn't have a very high heat value, so it's not very useful. The next level is lignite. You can call lignite young coal. If you leave it for another 15 million years, it becomes coal. If you leave coal further, it becomes graphite. So, this is young coal. Because it is young coal, its calorific value is slightly lower compared to coal. Coal has a calorific value of 4000-4500, while lignite has 3000-3200. But its advantage is that it has higher moisture content and higher volatile matter content. The higher volatile matter content makes it possible for clean power generation. Another problem with lignite is that, unlike coal, which can be transported anywhere to set up a power plant, you cannot transport lignite. You have to use it where it is produced. You cannot transport it over long distances to set up a power plant. So, wherever you see lignite mines, the power station is right next to them. In our Neyveli, there are three lignite mines, one of which is Asia's largest mine. Next to it, there are four thermal power stations. So, the lignite goes directly from the mine to the power plant and generates power. Because there is no transportation cost component, power is generated cheaply.
Where are the lignite reserves located, sir?
In our country, the major lignite reserves are in three states. Almost 50% of the reserves are in Tamil Nadu, mainly in the Neyveli area. Of the remaining 50%, 20% are in Rajasthan, 19% in Gujarat, and the rest are scattered in small quantities. So, the major reserves are in three states, with the largest state being Tamil Nadu. When we select technology for a power plant, we consider many factors. Generally, for both coal and lignite, pulverized fuel technology is commonly used. We also use the same in the Neyveli area. In the Neyveli area, four years ago, we established the first 500 MW power plant, which was the country's first 500 MW lignite-based plant. So, when selecting technology, we consider one factor as reliable power generation and another as environmentally friendly technology. We make our decision based on that combination.
There are allegations that thermal power stations emit pollution. What is the remedy to protect society and nature from that?
As you said, in thermal power stations, coal or lignite is burned. So, there are some emissions and pollution. But at the same time, to become independent in power generation, we need to add thermal power generation capacity and make it efficient. So, for the past two decades, the focus has been on environmentally friendly power generation. Earlier, the values for emissions were quite liberal. But those values have been squeezed significantly, and clear directives have been given to all thermal power stations that emissions should not exceed a certain limit, and they must install the necessary equipment to achieve this. Now, all thermal power stations have established these devices. In the thermal power station we are recently establishing, we have Flue Gas Desulfurization units for sulfur dioxide removal, SCRs for NOx removal, and Electrostatic Precipitators for suspended matter removal, with an efficiency of 99.99% or 99.9%. All this results in the least possible impact on the environment.
When did you enter this career? How many decades have you been in this field? What achievements have you made? Please tell us about that.
I joined this sector in 1988 as an Engineering Executive Trainee at NTPC. Even during that training, I got a gold medal for being a topper. After that, I worked in four power stations. I worked at the Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station in Uttar Pradesh, near Varanasi, which was the country's first super thermal power station. Then I worked at the Unchahar Thermal Power Station, then at the Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station in Visakhapatnam, and then at our corporate center. After working at NTPC for 30 years, I worked as the Managing Director of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation for two and a half years. In those two and a half years, I completely turned around the performance of the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation, including renewable capacity addition and thermal power station operations. Due to the recognition from that turnaround, I was selected as the Chairman of NLC India Limited and have been working here for the past two and a half years.
In this long journey, were there any difficult situations you faced?
When I was working at the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation, we received a target from the Government of India for renewable capacity addition. The main challenge was land acquisition and setting up solar plants. That seemed like a major challenge. We solved that problem by taking the local population into confidence, giving them proper compensation. Similarly, when I joined NLC India Limited, land acquisition was a major problem. For mine progression, we need land. But due to lack of land, thermal power generation had almost stopped when I joined; a 1500 MW power plant was stalled. With the support of the district administration, state government, and central government, we were able to acquire that land. We acquired 600 hectares of land. There was also a river diversion that had been pending for a long time. We were doing mining operations with a temporary diversion, but without a permanent diversion, the mine could not progress. Taking that as a challenge, with the support of the local population and everyone, we were able to divert the river, the Paramanar River. By completing both the river diversion and land acquisition, we were immediately able to bring power generation to full level. I consider this a major challenge in my career.
