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Bengal transfers 2 power plants to generation co

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, July 1

THE WEST BENGAL Government has taken a major step forward in its power reforms programme by transferring the two thermal power plants under West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) to a separate generating company, West Bengal Power Development Corpor ation Ltd (WBPDCL).

Mr Mrinal Banerjee, State Power Minister, said that the transfer of the assets and the liabilities of the two power plants at Bandel (BTPS) and Santladih (STPS) took effect from April 1, 2001, but the physical handover would take effect from July 1, 2001 , when BTPS and STPS come under WBPDCL's administrative control.

S R Batliboi and Company, which has been assigned to carry out the asset and liability verification exercise, will submit their report by December 31, 2001.

With this, the West Bengal government has implemented two major recommendations of the N C Basu Committee on power reforms. It also marks the fulfillment of an undertaking given to the Centre by the State Government in the MoU signed in May 2001.

As per the notification on the transfer signed by Mr Ashim Burman, State Power Secretary, all loans and accommodations from banks and FIs relating to BTPS and STPS shall devolve on WBPDCL and WBSEB's assets mortgaged on account of these two plants would become free from encumbrances. WBPDCL also inherits the suits and the arbitration proceedings in respect of the two plants.

WBPDCL, which runs the 210x6 Kolaghat Thermal Power Station and the 3x210 Bakreswar Thermal Power Station (the third unit of which has recently been synchronised) and acts as WBSEB's captive source, will sign a fresh power purchase agreement with WBSEB. The latter will henceforth be responsible only for generation and distribution of electricity besides running a few hydel capacity plants.

The notification, which deals at length with the manpower issue, says that WBPDCL will study the actual manpower requirement at these plants on the basis of which it will absorb these employees who give their option in favour of joining WBPDCL. For those who do not, they would be repatriated to the WBSEB.

Power department sources said that WBPDCL, which employed 1.44 people per MW in Kolaghat and 1.25 people in Bakreswar, was keen on taking only around 2,000 people for these plants whose capacities had been substantially derated.

It proposes to carry out renovation and modernisation (R&M) of both the plants. While the Rs 300 crore R & M programme of BTPS, proposed to be financed by Power Finance Corporation, is on its way to be implemented, steps are being taken to put in place a similar programme for STPS.

Set up between the sixties and the seventies, BTPS has four units of 82.5 MW each (derated 60) and a 210 MW unit, STPS has four units of 120 MW each (derated 70).