NTPC Approves ₹20,457 Crore Investment For Lara Thermal Plant Stage-III In Chhattisgarh

State-run power producer NTPC's board approved a ₹20,456.70 crore investment for the Lara Super Thermal Power Project Stage-III in Chhattisgarh on 11 July 2026, adding 1,600 MW of capacity through two 800 MW units.

The approval was disclosed in an exchange filing on Saturday.

Making Thermal Plants More Flexible

The Lara Stage-III investment comes alongside a separate initiative NTPC launched on 05 June, when it sought bids from technology solution providers to help its existing sub-critical thermal units operate at lower loads. The goal is to make these units more flexible so they can complement renewable energy on the grid rather than compete with it.

Sub-critical thermal units between 150 MW and 250 MW are being targeted for technical upgrades that would allow them to:

• Operate in two shifts rather than continuously.

• Run at a minimum technical load of just 25% of capacity.

• Cycle more frequently without excessive wear.

Why Sub-Critical Units For Flexibility

The choice of sub-critical technology for grid balancing is deliberate. Compared to supercritical and ultra-supercritical units, sub-critical plants experience fewer parameter swings during load changes, reducing metal fatigue and making frequent cycling more practical. That characteristic makes them useful as buffers when renewable energy output varies through the day.

NTPC said the ability of these units to operate efficiently at lower loads could make them a meaningful enabler for higher renewable energy integration into the national grid over time.

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