CHENNAI: The power situation in the State could be improved significantly by sourcing power from surplus regions across the country through the 'extra load route'. This is the suggestion that has been made by the Power Engineers Society of Tamil Nadu (PESOT) with a view to helping the government tide over the crisis.Speaking to reporters here, S Gandhi, president, PESOT said electricity is available at a lower cost of Rs 3 per unit in western regions like Gujarat. However, the inadequate capacity of the power corridor to transport electricity is impeding evacuation from power surplus regions to Tamil Nadu.To remedy the situation, the PESOT official wanted the Tamil Nadu government to prevail upon the Southern Regional Load Dispatch Centre (SRLDC), a power distribution regulatory body under the Union government, to allow shifting more electricity load to TN than what is being done now.Stating that the SRLDC was “orthodox and does not want to exceed norms,” he said the SRLDC should permit use of “Thermal Loading” by which more load could be brought in rather than the “Surge Impedance Loading” method which is being followed by the regulator.“This is only for emergency management. The network can withstand more load. By this arrangement, we could source 2,000 MW more. This is cost-effective too. This will drastically reduce load shedding by as much as three hours a day,” he argued.Currently, the TANGEDCO is sourcing a sizable quantum of power by making purchases in the open market as generation done by the EB alone is not sufficient.The cost of electricity in the open market is high, ranging from Rs 7 to Rs 15 a unit depending on the market conditions.“The electricity corporation is already suffering serious losses, which now stand at Rs 53,000 crore. By opting for cheaper power from surplus regions, losses could be avoided. At the same time, people could be relieved of power cuts.” Contending that the private power producers were making a killing by charging more, he faulted the Central and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions for not what he called not 'capping' the maximum price of electricity as mandated in Section 62 of the Electricity Act, 2003.Power purchase agreements made with five independent power producers (IPPs) prior to the formation of State Electricity Regulatory Commission are the 'costliest' and an important factor for the present losses of the TANGEDCO, he claimed.According to the provisions of the Electricity Act, TNERC is empowered to revise these power purchase agreements in keeping with the tariff regulations.“The TNERC has not done such revisions since 2004.This has resulted in excess payment to the IPPs which roughly works out to Rs 2,500 crore. This needs to be recovered from them,” he alleged.TANGEDCO has now sought an upward revision in tariff which is expected to net Rs 9,741 Crore to its kitty.“Had this (power purchase agreement revision exercise) been done, it would have reduced the burden (of the proposed hike) on the consumer to the extent of at least Rs 2,500 crore,” he said.
Comments
0 comment