The Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd (HNPCL) is gearing up to commission the first of the 2x520 MW units in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. This should be welcome news for the  Seemandhra region, which is presently suffering power shortage. A large portion of capacity of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh concentrated around Kothagudem- Ramagundam will go for Telengana.
    The Singareni Collieries exploiting the coal belt in that region has been supporting the large power capacity of NTPC and other units.  Hindujas’ foray into power was planned in the 1990s. The group made a serious bid for setting up a 1000 MW unit in Visakhapatnam district in the first flush of enthusiasm after the power sector was  liberalised in the 1990s. But like several other projects that were mooted with great promise like Enron and Jayamkondam, this project was also a non-starter, suffering from coal linkage issues. Power Minister Piyush Goyal has appreciated the importance of this project and cleared the files pending for long.
    The Hindujas have ambitious plans to set up capacity for 10,000 MW with an investment of around $ 10 billion over the next ten years. Meanwhile, Seemandhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has ambitious plans for massive expansion of power capacity. The Hindujas can leverage this plan of the state to expand capacity in quick time.