Thermal Power Plants in India

• Thermal power plants feed the largest share of electricity into India’s grid.
• They make electricity from the heat of a fuel. The heat usually raises steam in a boiler, and the steam drives a turbine joined to a generator.
• Plants are grouped by their heat source:
  • Coal-fired.
  • Gas.
  • Diesel or other liquid fuel.
  • Geothermal.
  • Biomass.
  • Waste material.

Thermal Power: Capacity and Spread

Installed Capacity

• India relies mainly on three kinds of thermal plant. Their capacity in January 2021 was:
  • Coal: 2,06,404.50 MW.
  • Gas: 24,956.51 MW.
  • Liquid fuel (diesel): 509.71 MW.
  • Total thermal on 31 January 2021: 2,31,870.72 MW.
• Their share of generation then stood at 71%. The planning estimate for 2025-26 gave coal alone about 71% of about 2,000 billion units.
• In capacity, the picture has shifted. Solar and wind have taken thermal below half of the national total.

• This diagram traces one gas-fired steam plant from the LNG carrier and fuel tank through the boiler, turbine, generator and transformer to the transmission tower. A coal plant differs mainly at the fuel end.

• In the 2021 column the four fossil lines add to 2,34,859 MW, while the total row shows 2,34,258 MW.
• The 2026 list leaves out plants under very long outage: 2,825 MW of coal and 4,400.84 MW of gas since April 2025, and further coal, lignite, gas and diesel units since 31 August 2026. This explains much of the fall in gas capacity.

Where Thermal Power Grew

• Thermal capacity has risen much faster than hydro: from 1.1 thousand MW (hydro 0.6) in 1950-51 to 197.7 thousand MW (hydro 40.5) by 2013-14.
• The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), formed in 1975, drove much of this. The NTPC group passed 90 GW in May 2026, across all sources.
• Thermal plants matter most where terrain and rivers do not favour hydro, and they locate by three pulls:
  • Pithead sites on the coalfields of the Damodar, Son, Mahanadi and Godavari valleys.
  • Coal brought by rail to demand centres in the plains, as in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
  • Gas and imported fuel near pipelines and on the coast.
• Older State shares, from the 2010s, show the pattern:
  • Maharashtra led, with about 16% of thermal output.
  • Gujarat, short of hydro sites, drew 91% of its capacity from thermal plants.
  • West Bengal stood at 97.7%, on low-grade steam coal, and Uttar Pradesh at 93.6%, using coal hauled from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
• Other stations named in older State lists:
  • Maharashtra: Ballarshah, Chola, Kolhapur, Ujjaini.
  • Gujarat: Banas, Mahuva, Shahpur, Porbandar, Kandla.
  • Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Nellore, Vijayawada, Manuguru.
  • West Bengal: Bandel, Kolkata, Titagarh.
  • Uttar Pradesh: Renusagar, Jawaharpur, Mau, Gorakhpur, Dohrighat, Moradabad, Bahraich.
  • Jharkhand: Subarnarekha.

List of Thermal Power Plants in India

• Abbreviations: TPS, Thermal Power Station; STPS, Super Thermal Power Station; TPP, Thermal Power Plant.

North India

Central India

Eastern India

Western India

South India

Important Thermal Centres

Western Coast and Gujarat

• Uran:
  • Part of Navi Mumbai, in Raigad district near Panvel.
  • The Uran power project was long described as Asia’s first gas-run power plant. A special economic zone (SEZ) has been developed here.
• Dabhol:
  • At Anjanwel, Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra.
  • Built by the Dabhol Power Company, its running was broken several times by political controversy.
• Trombay:
  • On Trombay Island, south-east of Salsette Island.
  • Home to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), besides the power station.
• Kawas:
  • A gas-based plant of 645 MW in Surat district of Gujarat, generating since 1992.
  • It uses gas from the South Bassein field and water from the Hazira Branch Canal.
  • Beneficiaries: Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.
• Sikka: a coal-based station near Jamnagar, with 2 units of 120 MW each in older figures.
• Utran:
  • A gas station on the bank of the Tapi near Surat.
  • Noted as India’s first gas-based combined cycle station of 370 MW, listed at 383 MW later.
• Dhuvaran:
  • The first power plant of the Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB), near Khambhat in Anand district.
  • 534 MW on oil and gas, with units built by General Electric of the USA.

Telangana and the Godavari

• Ramagundam:
  • An NTPC plant of 2,600 MW, in an industrial town between the Godavari and the Maner, now in Peddapalli district (formerly Karimnagar).
  • Known as the City of Energy, and long the largest power station of South India. Newer plants such as Yadadri are rated higher.
  • The first super thermal plant in India certified under ISO 14001.
• Kothagudem:
  • East of Singareni, now in Bhadradri Kothagudem district (formerly Khammam), Telangana.
  • Thermal plant: 1,680 MW, on low-grade coal from the local mines.
  • Called the Coal Town of South India.
• Bhadrachalam:
  • On the bank of the Godavari, in the same district.
  • Its temple to Lord Rama is a major Hindu pilgrimage site.
• Yadadri:
  • At Veerlapalem in Damaracherla mandal, Nalgonda district, on the Krishna.
  • Five units of 800 MW. The fifth was synchronised on 20 October 2026, with commercial operation expected in November.
  • It adds a new pole of coal power in the south, well away from the older Godavari valley stations, and its site lies close to the Krishna.

West Bengal and Assam

• Kolaghat:
  • 1,260 MW on the Rupnarayan, in Purba Medinipur district. It has been named the largest State-sector plant of West Bengal.
• Bakreshwar: on the Bakreshwar River in Birbhum district; 1,050 MW.
• Gauripur: on the Brahmaputra in Dhubri district, western Assam; 413 MW in older figures.
• Namrup:
  • In Dibrugarh district, in the far north-east of Assam, amid tea gardens.
  • The first place in India to have a heavy natural-gas-based fertiliser factory.
  • Thermal plant: 111.5 MW. Coal mining and petrochemicals add to its base.
• Bongaigaon:
  • In western Assam, with a refinery taking oil from Digboi.
  • Thermal plant: 120 MW in older figures. NTPC’s 750 MW station lies at nearby Salakati.

South

• Neyveli:
  • In Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, west of Puducherry; 2,300 MW in older figures.
  • It burns locally mined lignite. Neyveli Lignite Corporation (now NLC India) manages it.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

• Obra:
  • In Sonbhadra district of southern Uttar Pradesh, on the bank of the Son.
  • Coal-fired, with 13 units totalling 1,550 MW in older figures. Older units have since been retired.
• Harduaganj:
  • In Aligarh district of western Uttar Pradesh, also called the Kasimpur Power House.
  • Coal-based: 7 units, 665 MW in older figures.
• Unchahar:
  • An NTPC plant in Rae Bareli district, on coal from the Jharia and North Karanpura fields.
  • Five units of 210 MW make 1,050 MW. A sixth, of 500 MW, came in 2017 and raised it to 1,550 MW.
• Tundla:
  • In Firozabad district, 24 km from Agra.
  • An important town in British times, and the home town of the Bollywood actor Raj Babbar.
• Singrauli:
  • A major coalfield of eastern Madhya Pradesh, running into Uttar Pradesh.
  • The NTPC plant of 2,000 MW stands at Shaktinagar in Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh.
• Parichha:
  • In Jhansi district, on coal from Jharkhand.
  • Five units and 890 MW in older figures, with a sixth then in progress. It is listed at 1,140 MW later.
• Rosa:
  • In Shahjahanpur district: a private coal plant of 1,200 MW under a Reliance Power subsidiary.
• Barauni:
  • On the left bank of the Ganga in Begusarai district, Bihar.
  • An industrial town with an oil refinery, fertilisers and thermal power (255 MW in older figures).
  • A pipeline links it to the oilfields of Assam.
• Kahalgaon:
  • An NTPC plant in Bhagalpur district, on the banks of the Ganga.
  • It reached its planned final capacity, from 1,840 MW to 2,340 MW.

Central India

• Satpura:
  • At Sarni in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh; 1,142 MW in older figures, and among the State’s largest.
  • The Satpura Dam was built specifically for it.
• Amarkantak:
  • Near the border of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
  • Source of the Narmada, the Son and a Mahanadi tributary, with a radial drainage pattern.
  • A famous tourist and pilgrimage centre, with a 450 MW thermal plant nearby.
• Korba:
  • On the bank of the Hasdo in Chhattisgarh, a coal-producing region.
  • Aluminium plant (BALCO), and an NTPC plant of 2,600 MW.

North-West

• Faridabad:
  • A million-plus city of Haryana, a suburb to the south-east of Delhi, with industry and a container depot.
  • Thermal plant of 60 MW, and a gas-based plant of 430 MW.
• Panipat:
  • Between Karnal to the north and Sonipat, on old NH-1 (now NH-44).
  • Site of the three historic battles. Thermal plant: 440 MW + 920 MW.
• Badarpur:
  • In the south of Delhi, near Faridabad.
  • Thermal plant of 705 MW, shut on 15 October 2018.
• Kota:
  • In the Chambal valley, named after the Koteah clan of the Bhils. Kota Barrage and Rawatbhata lie close by.
  • On old NH-12 (now NH-52). Famous for Kota stone, a fine-grained limestone.
  • Thermal plant: 1,241 MW.
• Palana:
  • In Rajasthan, using lignite from mines near Bikaner.
  • Capacity: 120 MW (2 × 60 MW).
• Anta:
  • In Baran district, north of Kota, also noted for solar power.
  • A gas-based plant of 413 MW.
• Sawai Madhopur:
  • In eastern Rajasthan, near where the Banas meets the Chambal.
  • Ranthambore National Park lies close by, along with a thermal plant.
• Chhabra:
  • In Baran district of Rajasthan, coal-fired.
  • Planned capacity of 2,650 MW by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan.
• Suratgarh:
  • In Sri Ganganagar district, the first super thermal station of Rajasthan.
  • 6 units of 250 MW each.
• Giral:
  • In Barmer district, a lignite plant with 2 lignite-fired turbines; 250 MW.