The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is planning to meet its entire auxiliary power requirement through domestically manufactured solar equipment. Auxiliary power is used by NTPC to run its thermal plants. This power is consumed during plant start-up and shutdown, operation of plant machinery, and service equipment to support illumination, air-conditioning, and other equipment. According to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (CERC), recommendations on operation norms for thermal power stations for the tariff period 2014 to 2019, auxiliary energy consumption in the range of 6-9 percent is permitted, per a report from the Hindu Business Line.