LUCKNOW, April 29 -- The Uttar Pradesh government has cleared a major expansion in its power generation and transmission capacity, with the Energy Task Force (ETF) approving a series of projects, including a 2,400 MW thermal addition at Meja, to meet rising electricity demand in the years to come. At a meeting chaired by chief secretary SP Goyal on Monday, the ETF approved the energy department's proposal to expand the Meja thermal power project in Prayagraj by installing three units of 800 MW each. The Meja-2 project will be developed jointly by NTPC Limited and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam at an estimated cost of around Rs 33,000 crore. The new units are expected to begin supplying electricity within five years of start of work which is expected to begin soon considering all the clearances and coal and water linkages already in place. A 1,320 MW supercritical thermal power plant is already operational at Meja as a joint venture between NTPC and the state generation utility. Officials said NTPC is also planning to add around 5,000 MW of generation capacity in Uttar Pradesh over the next five years. Alongside coal-based expansion, upcoming solar and nuclear projects will require land and water support from the state government. In addition, the ETF approved the final cost closure proposal of the 660 MW Panki thermal power plant commissioned in February 2025. The task force also cleared six proposals from the Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. These included setting up two high-capacity transmission substations in Mirzapur and the Yamuna Authority area in Gautam Buddh Nagar and augmenting existing substations in Lalitpur, Jhansi and Deoria to strengthen the grid for evacuating additional power. All proposals approved by the ETF will now be placed before the Cabinet for final approval....