India considering 3 more large power projects

NEW DELHI, March 14 (Reuters) - India is considering three more large power plants, in addition to nine projects each of 4,000 megawatts already planned, a senior government official said on Friday.

Under pressure to bridge a shortfall in electricity generation to feed a rapidly growing economy, India has identified the coal-rich eastern state of Orissa for the plants, Power Secretary Anil Razdan said.

"There could be a strong and clear possibility of four ultra- mega power projects in Orissa," he said at an industry conference. "We have to look at appropriate size, look at the potential purchases."

Razdan said the state government had written to the federal government offering coal blocks for the new plants.

India has a power shortfall of 9 percent and at peak times the deficit shoots up to nearly 14 percent, according to the power ministry.

To ease power cuts across much of India, the government has announced plans to build nine "ultra-mega", or 4,000 megawatt, power projects, one of which is in Orissa, which has large deposits of coal.

The government has awarded three of these projects -- two to Reliance Power Ltd (RPOL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in south and central India, and one to Tata Power Co Ltd (TTPW.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in western India.

Other projects are still in the planning process.

Indian plans to add more than 78,577 megawatts of power generation capacity by 2012, but analysts say this is insufficient to meet demand that is growing 8-9 percent a year. (Reporting by Rakesh Sharma; Writing by Prashant Mehra; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)