Lower employee benefits expense also helped in pushing the company's quarterly profit higher.

NTPC had a net profit of Rs 2,130.39 crore in the same period last fiscal.

The state-run power producer's total income in the third quarter of the current fiscal rose to Rs 16,529.55 crore, from Rs 16,244.41 crore for the three months ended December, 2011, it said in a statement.

The rise in net profit was mainly on the back of increased generation capacity, lower fuel costs as well as employee benefits expenses, a company official said.

In the first nine months of 2012-13, NTPC began commercial operations of 3,820 MW power generation capacity.

At present, NTPC has a generation capacity of 39,674 MW and it is expected to go up to 1,28,000 MW by 2032.

The company's board today approved an equity investment of Rs 2,269.75 crore for setting up a 1,980 MW power plant in Bihar.

The investment would be made in Nabinagar Power Generating Company Private Ltd -- an equal joint venture of NTPC and Bihar State Electricity Board to implement Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project (3X660 MW) in Aurangabad district.

Meanwhile, the government today said it would re-allocate its three forfeited coal blocks by tomorrow to NTPC after Law Ministry's approval, a move that would bolster the firm's valuation ahead of its proposed share sale.

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