Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has resumed operations at its 1,400-MW Nabha power plant even as the company is yet to adhere to the Union environment ministry’s revised pollution norms. This has happened after the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) served a notice on the firm for defaulting on the power purchase agreement (PPA). The plant, Nabha Power Ltd (NPL) was shut on December 31, 2019.
The firm charges ₹1,300 crore annually from the government as fixed cost charges for running the said plant. The plant was shut after the firm failed to adhere to the Centre’s mandatory pollution guidelines on installing flue-gas desulphuriser (FGD).
In 2017, the government had issued guidelines to install FGD in all power plants within a radius of 300km by 2019, failing which the company could be fined.