The Hindu Business Line : Govt to support flow of captive power to tide over shortages

TO tide over the expected shortage of power during the summer months, the Government is planning to encourage the flow of surplus power from captive units into the electricity grid.Speaking at a conference here, the Power Secretary, Mr R.V. Shahi, said that an estimated 4,000-5,000 megawatts (MW) of additional power is expected to flow into the grid over the next six months from captive stations alone.

Power trading company PTC India Ltd has already started evacuating surplus power from Jindal Steel and Power's captive unit in Chhatisgarh. The country has a total installed captive power of about 20,000 MW.

The Power Ministry is also working towards improving the efficiency of stations with a plant load factor (PLF) of less than 60 per cent. "We have identified about 26 projects, which have a PLF of less than 60 per cent against a national average of 74.8 per cent. The PLF of under-performing stations can be improved by implementing renovation and modernisation plans," Mr Shahi said on the sidelines of a Powerline conference on rural electrification.

The Ministry would involve the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and other high-performing companies to assist these stations, he said, adding that the stations would be given a target of increasing their PLF up to 75 per cent. A time-bound programme has already been worked out for increasing the PLF, he said. According to the Ministry's estimates, the move could bring an additional 5,000 MW to the grid.

Mr Shahi said there are more than 30 power stations in the country that have a PLF of over 85 per cent during 2004-05. With the improvement of low-performing plants, the average PLF during this year is expected to go up to 76-77 per cent. Stressing on providing electricity to all villages, Mr Shahi said the Government has earmarked Rs 16,000 crore under the recently-launched Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana to connect by 2009-10 all villages and households, which do not have access to electricity.

Of this, Rs 5,000 crore has been allocated for the next two years, he said, adding that the money would be provided as a capital subsidy for creating rural electricity infrastructure and a distribution backbone. There are about one lakh villages and 7.8 crore households that do not have access to electricity. Besides, another 25,000 remote villages, where grid connection is not possible, would be provided electricity through renewable energy sources, Mr Shahi said.

The new scheme will give priority to North-Eastern regions, besides Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa, where about 80 per cent of rural households do not have electricity. The scheme integrates the existing programmes — the Minimum Needs Programme, Kutir Jyoti Programme and Accelerated Rural Electrification Programme.

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