eGov-April-2010-[10-11]-Delhi has Improved Power Position!-Rajendra Kumar

interview cover interview

Delhi has Improved Power Position! www.delhitransco.gov.in

rajendra kumar Principal Secretary (Power) Government of NCT of Delhi

“In the present scenario, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a huge role in the power sector, be it generation, transmission or distribution. Many initiatives have been taken in this direction by the Government as well as private utilities. NDPL, BSES and PPCL have already implemented ERP to integrate their various functions and processes and bring out the efficiency in the system. �

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Delhi has witnessed rising peak demand of energy over recent years on one hand, and the stagnant power supply of its own power plants on the other. What are the milestones covered till now in resolving the demand-supply mismatch and making Delhi a ‘power surplus state’?

The power supply position of Delhi at present is quite encouraging and despite the load growth from 17,000 Mega Units (MUs) in 1999-2000 to more than 24,000 MUs in 2008-09, the shedding has reduced from 2.8% to 0.6% in the respective years. The generation capacity of Delhi, which stood at 994.5 MW for long, shall be increased to 1500 MW in the current year and again to 750 MW by the year 2011-12.

We also have 750 MW share in Indira Gandhi Thermal Power Plant in Jhajjar and 900 MW Dadri expansion project, which shall also be available in the year 2010.

Another 2500 MW power has been arranged from Damodar Valley Corporation in phased-manner to take care of the shortages. A total of around 11,300 MW power shall be available next year against an estimated demand of 6961 MW rendering a surplus of 4339 MW. How significant is the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the power sector? What were the objectives of privatising the power distribution in Delhi?

PPP in power sector is very important and has given desired results.

Central Government has also encouraged PPP in the power sectors through the bidding of Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) and allowing the establishment of merchant power plants and power exchange. The power sector requires huge capital investment, which if taken care by the private sector, can be utilised in the development of other infrastructure in the country.

Delhi’s power sector was privatised mainly to bring in the accountability and efficiency in the system. The whole reform process in Delhi was conducted in a very transparent manner. The bidders were pre-qualified by the Empowered Committee with representatives drawn from the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Delhi Vidyut

Board (DVB), Union Ministry of Power, Central Electricity Authority, Power Finance Corporation and Administrative Staff College of India. The entire process was also debated in the Delhi Assembly and in the various seminars before reaching the final stage.

Before bidding, an opening loss level and initial Bulk Supply Tariff was fixed by Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.

An innovative target setting methodology was adopted to establish the efficiency improvement targets through bidding process itself. The reduction of Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses was fixed at a level, which will ensure that distribution of electricity in Delhi becomes viable by the end of five-year period.

Another objective was to minimise the tariff shock through efficiency improvements. The loss reduction target for the privatisation of the power distribution in Delhi has been overachieved and the losses have come down from 50% to around 20% at present and are expected to reduce further. The power supply position has improved, as elaborated in the above paragraph. During DVB’s time, the CPSU dues were not being paid in full and dues were mounting, which have now been cleared and there are no dues on Delhi’s power purchase. Three utilities – North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL), Pragati Power Corporation Limited (PPCL) and Delhi TranscoLimited (DTL) are constantly paying dividends to Delhi Government.

The subsidy burden of around INR 15,000 million, which Delhi Government was paying to the electricity sector of Delhi, has been completely eradicated and the money is being utilised for development of other infrastructure in the city of Delhi.

What strategy has been adopted by the Government in meeting the power demand of the Capital during the Commonwealth Games? Will the state opt for purchasing power from other states and corporations or increase its generation capacity?

The Commonwealth Games in the Capital are scheduled to commence in October-2010.

By October-2010 sufficient power will be available to Delhi through commissioning of units at Pragati-III Power Station at Bawana, units at Indira Gandhi Thermal Power Station at Jhajjar and Dadri. Sufficient

power has been tied-up by the Discoms to take care of the demand during the Commonwealth Games through bilateral arrangements, banking etc.

How do you see the role of ICT in generation, transmission and distribution? What are the various initiatives taken in this direction?

In the present scenario, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a huge role in the power sector, be it generation, transmission or distribution.

Many initiatives have been taken in this direction by the Government as well as private utilities. NDPL, BSES and PPCL have already implemented ERP to integrate their various functions and processes and bring out the efficiency in the system.

Delhi Transco Limited is in the process of implementing ERP. SCADA has also been implemented in transmission and distribution sectors of Delhi to provide accurate online information about the status and health of the system. We are also using other technologies to enhance the efficiency in the sector.

How are the issues of T&D (transmission and distribution) losses are being taken care of and what are the steps adopted in this direction to curb these losses?

As elaborated earlier, the initial T&D loss levels at the time of privatisation was more than 50% and the bidding was made mainly on the basis of loss reduction targets and their achievements.

The Discoms were given year-wise loss reduction targets with incentives to overachieve the targets. This has given the desired results and at present the AT&C losses have come down from 50% to 20% and are expected to reduce further in the years to come.

Can you throw some light on the Green Initiatives (non conventional power generation) taken by the government?

Delhi Government is committed to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. Waste-to-Energy projects have been undertaken, through PPP model.

Work in the concept of Solar power generation through distribution PV modules is on.\\ Gayatri Maheshwary egov

april 2010

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