Source: ToI
MUMBAI: Consumers in Mumbai and Maharashtra can expect to get cheaper and ample supply of power soon because the national capital has defaulted on the payment of its electricity bills.
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has offered Maharashtra a huge stock of around 2,000 MW of power it earlier supplied to power companies in Delhi. At present, the state faces a deficit of around 2,000 MW despite being the biggest power producer in the country.
This additional supply of 2,000 MW of power will not only end load-shedding in the state but also help provide cheaper power to Mumbai where tariffs have shot up due to the increasing quantum of supply of high cost of power.
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) on Wednesday evening received a letter from the NTPC, proposing to give 2,000 MW of power to the state. On Thursday, the MSEDCL replied to the NTPC letter saying it was ready to buy the maximum quantum and sought to know the terms and conditions.
Officials do not know yet when the state would receive this power. They are also not sure about the rate at which Maharahstra will get this power or the period for which it will be available to the state. “Only after finalizing the deal would we be able to comment on the quantity, period and tariff,” said a state official.
In its letter, the NTPC says that Delhi’s two power suppliers-BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd-have failed to pay their long-pending dues, which run into crores, and hence it (the NTPC) is planning to withdraw 2,000 MW supply on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
However, as the two suppliers have appealed to the Delhi power regulatory authority, it will take some time for the initial quantum of this power to come to the state, said sources. “Quantity and time will depend on the solution the regulatory and legal authorities come up with on this crisis in Delhi,” a state official said.Maharashtra had already conveyed to the Centre its power shortage and thus demand for additional supply to meet the shortfall a month ago when the state faced crisis in its generation due to lack of coal supply. Even today, in state’s rural areas and certain semi-urban areas the load-shedding ranges from three to six hours due to power shortage.
“As per the central electricity regulatory commission (CERC) regulations and the power purchase agreement (PPA), the NTPC notice has formally conveyed Delhi suppliers — ‘to proceed with regulation/suspension of power supplies to BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd'” revealed MSEDCL officials who have the copy of the letter.
“As these companies have defaulted in maintaining the requisite letter of credit and have not made payment of NTPC dues on due date, share of their power is proposed to be regulated/ suspended from 00 hours of December 8,” the NTPC letter to MSEDCL stated further.
At the end the letter NTPC also proposes to give this power to Maharashtra, officials in the state power ministry revealed.
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