Subhasis Ghosh has had a long innings of 37 years in the power sector. He began his career as an engineer trainee with NTPC in 1981 and spent his entire career with the company before joining West Bengal Power Develop-ment Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) as director, operations and maintenance (O&M), last September.
At WBPDCL, Ghosh is focusing on several initiatives for supercritical capacity addition as well as R&M. “We are going ahead with the addition of a 660 MW unit at the Sagardighi and Bakreswar projects.” Further, the utility has dismantled old inefficient plants and is set to undertake R&M of old units like the Kolaghat plant. As part of its diversification efforts, WBPDCL is planning to expand its solar power capacity through rooftop, ground-mounted and floating solar plants.
At NTPC, Ghosh had the opportunity to work on various aspects of the industry, including project execution as well as O&M of thermal power plants (TPPs) such as Farakka, Ramagundam, Kahalgaon, Mouda and Kudgi. He was also involved in the execution of NTPC’s renewable energy projects, including India’s biggest solar project at Bhadla (260 MW) and NTPC’s first wind project (50 MW) in Gujarat. He was the nominee chairman of NTPC’s two joint ventures – Utility Power Tech-Board (a 50:50 JV of NTPC Limited and Reliance Infrastructure Limited) and Ratnagiri Power Projects Limited. He was also a member of the board of NTPC-Bharat Forge Limited.
Ghosh takes immense pride in having worked with NTPC and particularly cherishes his experience as general manager of the 2,300 MW Kahalgaon project. During his tenure, three units of 500 MW each were declared fully commercial. Major effort was also made to develop the township near the project area, he says.
Ghosh has a positive outlook for the power sector given its key role in a growing economy. Going forward, there will be a major thrust on renewables, he says, though he admits that the segment poses challenges for the power sector in terms of grid fluctuation and energy storage. Another challenge for the power sector is the new environmental norms that need to be implemented in TPPs.
Ghosh is an electrical engineering graduate from Jadavpur University. He enjoys travelling and listening to ghazals. His family includes his wife, who is a homemaker and a daughter, who is following in his footsteps and has done a master’s in electrical and electronics engineering from the UK.