Swapnendu Kumar Panda has over 30 years of experience in the power sector with expertise in thermal project construction, commissioning and maintenance of power projects, project planning and execution, operations, maintenance, power plant optimisation as well as regulatory and environmental aspects.
He started his career as an executive trainee at NTPC Limited, in 1991. He currently leads DVC’s technical team and has been instrumental to the company’s capacity addition programme in areas of thermal power, ground-mounted and floating solar, and the tendering of battery energy storage systems.
Some of the key projects that he is overseeing are the award and tender of the Raghunathpur thermal
power station Phase II (2 x 660 MW), in Purulia district of West Bengal, the Durgapur (1 x 800 MW) power plant, in West Bengal, the Koderma Thermal Power Station (Phase-II), in Jharkhand, the Chandrapura (2 x 800 MW) power plant, in Jharkhand, as well as the renovation and modernisation (R&M) work at the Panchet hydro unit and other transmission systems.
Panda is credited for the successful commissioning of FGD and De Nox systems at the Raghunathpur and Koderma thermal power plants. He also heads the mining team for the production and transportation of coal from captive coal mines at Tubed Coal, Jharkhand. Under his guidance, the coal mine was able to achieve the production targets despite facing critical challenges.
He is actively involved in the company’s initiatives towards digitalisation, energy efficiency, and research and development. In his present role, his topmost priority is the implementation of the highest safety standards at all power stations, transmission systems and operational mines.
He is optimistic that DVC is set for transformative growth and become an integrated, diversified and sustainable power utility in the country, ensuring socio-economic development of people and creating value for its stakeholders.
At NTPC, he played a key role in the commissioning of projects such as Kahalgaon Stages I and II and Barauni, in Bihar, Simhadri Stage II, in Andhra Pradesh, Kudgi Stage I, in Karnataka, Patratu and North Karanpura, in Jharkhand, and a renewable energy project in Bikaner, Rajasthan.