Uttar Pradesh is planning to rope in more private
sector participation in its deficient power sector.
The populous northern state that faced a power shortage
of 22 per cent in 2010-11 (national metric: 10 per
cent) has vowed to improve its per capita power availability
to 1,000 kwh (units) per year by 2014 from a
measly 340 kwh today.
Speaking to Electrical Monitor over
phone, V.K. Verma, Chief Engineer
(Projects), Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation
Ltd, said that the corporation
would soon be inviting requests
for qualification for a 2x660-mw
supercritical power project in Etah
district. The project will be awarded
using tariff based competitive bidding
(Case II), he explained. UPPCL,
the delays notwithstanding, has so
far awarded two projects under Case II. Both the
projects—Bara (3x660-mw) and Karchana (2x660-
mw)—have gone to Jaiprakash Associates (part of
the Jaypee Group). The private developer has
already begun preliminary work on the project, it is
learnt. Under the Case 2 modality, the nodal agency
assists the power developer in pre-project issues
like land acquisition, securing environmental clearance,
etc.
In another significant development, UPPCL has
made some progress in its attempt to source power
using Case I of the tariff-based competitive bidding
route. In this modality, the power procurer (in this case,
UPPCL) enters into a long-term power purchase agreement
with the supplier without involving itself in setting
up the power project. The developer is free to supply
power from any generating station, with no restriction
on the type, fuel and location of the power plant.
UPPCL had invited bids for the supply of 2,000 mw of
power, to which six parties responded. These included
prominent names like Adani, Reliance (ADAG), PTC
India and Indiabulls, among others, Verma said. Based
on the suggestions received at a recent
pre-bid meeting, UPPCL has planned
to invite fresh RfQs, the UPPCL official
noted. The state government utility
will follow-up this exercise with another
round for 3,000 mw of power. "We
expect power supply to begin from
September 2014 onwards for a 25-year
period," Verma explained.
Taking the private endeavour even
further, UPPCL has sought consultants
for structuring five projects aggregating nearly
10,000 mw. These projects spread over the districts of
Chitrakoot, Farrukhabad, Bulandshahar, Dohrighat
and Hardoi, are conceived to come up on Case-2 basis.
At the moment, private sector role in UP's power generation
sector is incipient. Lanco is constructing the
2x600-mw Anpara-C coal-fired power project in Sonebhadra
district that it won in September 2006. This project
too was based on the tariff-based competitive bidding
system, and is widely believed to be the first such
in India. There are some other independent power producers
like Canasia Power that is setting up a 2x600-
mw power generation plant at Jawaharpur.
Private sector interest is also surfacing in the form of
independent power projects. The northern state has
entered into agreements with companies like Bajaj Hindusthan,
Gammon India and Lanco Infratech to set up
large generation capacity in the private sector. On its
part, the state government-owned power generation
company UPPCL is also lending support through
brownfield expansions at its existing plants—Panki,
Pariccha, Harduaganj, etc.