Private power projects in Andhra will provide only marginal relief
WITHa power shortfall of 2,000 MW, domestic consumers in Hyderabad suffer daily power cuts of up to six hours, four of them officially announced scheduled load shedding at fixed times. Officially, power cuts for (high tension) industrial consumers is computed at 60-70 per cent, though in reality it even touches 90 per cent.
The installed capacity in Andhra Pradesh is 6,111 MW, says APSEB member secretary Anil Kumar Kutty. What reaches the consumer is barely 49 per cent—what with the ubiquitous transmission and distribution losses, the bane of every state electricity board in the country. While power requirements rise, generation grows at a slower pace. The simultaneous concurrent demand is 4,200 MW in Andhra, says A.V. Subba Rao, APSEB member (projects).
And like other SEBs, the losses of APSEB keep mounting. APSEB's rate of return, says Kutty, is minus 20-23 per cent—worse than the national average of minus 13 per cent. The board has now hiked tariffs by20-30 per cent. This will raise the rate of return to 3 per cent of net fixed assets, a stipulation made by the Electricity Supply Act, 1948. This is also a mandatory requirement which SEBs have to fulfill if private power projects are to get counter-guarantees to the government guarantee.
But to Andhra goes the credit of having the largest number of private power projects—three out of the eight fast track power projects. Besides the GVK and Spectrum projects, the Hinduja National Power Corporation's 1,040 MW coal-based plant is expected to be commissioned by the year 2000 in Vishakhapatnam. While the Hinduja project is still distant, the two other projects will provide a modicum of relief to Andhra consumers. For the power-starved, even small morsels are welcome!