The Hindu Business Line : Karnataka, AP emerge big buyers of DVC power

ANDHRA Pradesh and Karnataka have emerged as major customers of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), which earned Rs 265 crore through power exports in 2003-04.

DVC, which last revised its tariffs in September 2000, has one of the lowest tariffs that vary between Rs 2 per kilowatt hour (kWh) and Rs 2.13. The exports were made through Power Trading Corporation.

DVC sources said that while the Kerala State Electricity Board bought Rs 14.24-crore worth of power in 2003-04, APTransco, the transmission outfit in Andhra Pradesh, purchased Rs 27.3-crore worth of power from the multi-utility corporation, which is headquartered in the city.

It has its power plants located in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

The Gujarat State Electricity Board remained the biggest importer buying 517.5 kWh of power helping DVC earn Rs 107.63-crore of revenue followed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, which bought Rs 31.1-crore of power.

The corporation increased its power exports by 17.2 per cent in 2003-04 compared to the previous year.

The coal and the steel sector remained the corporation's biggest customers buying 17 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively in 2003-04.

The railways accounted for 8.2 per cent of the sales while the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB), which remains among the biggest defaulters bought 18.5 per cent of power.

Apart from JSEB, DVC has been able to step up its collection mechanism substantially in 2003-04, realising 100 per cent of its billed amount.

This figure stood at 84 per cent for the West Bengal State Electricity Board in 2002-03, which made an one-time payment of Rs 540 crore in the last fiscal towards settlement of its past dues and cleared 100 per cent of its Rs 160-crore power bill in 2003-04.

The corporation's other customers too cleared their bills of Rs 1,984 crore during the year raking in handsome profits for the utility.