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Power bought by govt or not, private players still get crores as fixed costs

CHANDIGARH: Even as Punjab is backing down (reducing generation) its own power plants, it continues to pay hundreds of crores as fixed costs to the private power plants that have come up in the state.

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Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 5

Even as Punjab is backing down (reducing generation) its own power plants, it continues to pay hundreds of crores as fixed costs to the private power plants that have come up in the state. Money is paid to the plants contracted by the state government to supply power. The amount is payable even if not a single unit of power is bought from these plants.

The annual power tariff order released by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) today revealed that the state power corporation gave Rs 933 crore as fixed costs to private plants in 2014-15. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had actually set aside Rs 1,700 crore, to be paid as fixed costs to private plants in 2014-15. Because a number of such plants were not commissioned, the actual fixed cost paid to them was just over Rs 900 crore.

PSERC Chairperson Romila Dubey said 6,236 million unit power was available in excess in the second half of 2014-15. There was a projected increase in power generation of 12,994 million units. “Thus the amount paid as fixed cost was less than what was demanded. This year, the PSPCL has demanded that Rs 2,189 crore be set aside for paying fixed costs to private players, including the one at Rajpura and one unit at Talwandi Sabo,” she said. The state was expecting 15,318 million units to be in excess after the commissioning of new private power plants, she added.

PSPCL sources said once all three sanctioned private power plants got commissioned, the state would pay Rs 1,200 crore as fixed costs for the Rajpura plant; Rs 1,825 crore for the Talwandi Sabo plant and Rs 660 crore for the Goindwal Sahib plant. This money will be paid to the promoters of private power plants, even if they do not produce any power.

Sources say while a huge amount is being paid as fixed costs to private players, the state’s own three power plants — at Lehra Mohabbat, Bathinda and Ropar — are being deliberately backed down.

Information available with The Tribune shows that the plant at Lehra Mohabbat had a plant load factor of 56 per cent in 2014- 15. The back down in generation was 13 per cent. In Ropar, for a plant load factor of 52 per cent, the back down was 23 per cent; while for a plant load factor of 51 per cent in Bathinda, the back down was 37 per cent.

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