Public private
p a r t n e r s h i p
forms a critical part
of India's projected
growth in the power
sector, according to
B.K. Chaturvedi,
Member-Energy,
Planning Commission.
He was talking to the press at the sidelines
of the "Powergen 2010 India & Central
Asia" event recently held in Mumbai.
Chaturvedi observed that private participation
has now penetrated all the three
aspects of the power sector-generation,
transmission and distribution. Regarding
power transmission, he observed that three
mega transmission lines have already been
awarded to the private sector. These will be
developed through tariff-based competitive
bidding. More projects are expected to
reach the RfQ stage in the coming months,
he noted.
Speaking of the ultra mega power series,
Chaturvedi said that the effort has been successful
with four projects—Sasan (Madhya
Pradesh), Mundra (Gujarat), Krishnapatnam
(Andhra Pradesh) and Tilaya (Jharkhand)—
already awarded. More UMPPs
would come up for award, but there were
issues about site selection, he noted.
On the distribution side though, the Planning
Commission member observed that
there could be issues while privatizing
existing circles. "It is a matter of political
will," he had to say while dwelling on the
resistance shown by Uttar Pradesh Power
Corporation officials while awarding the
Agra circle to private player Torrent Group.
He agreed that while the Agra circle was
handed over to the Gujarat-based group on
April 1, the Kanpur circle was pending handover.
If there is enough political will, the
private franchisee mode could be made
successful he said, alluding to the fact that
the exercise has seen results in states like
Gujarat, Delhi and Maharashtra.