Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission clears 500MW purchase for 3 years : The Tribune India

Tribune press service

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Chandigarh, May 5

After the Electricity Department’s petition for review, the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), in an interim order, authorized the purchase of 500MW of electricity from two 24-hour suppliers out of 24 for three years.

However, one of the power providers, MB Power Madhya Pradesh Ltd, pulled out of the deal as negotiations in this regard were ongoing, a senior officer said.

The Haryana Power Purchase Center (HPPC) had filed the petition for review, seeking a review of the Commission’s order dated April 27, in which power purchase was only permitted from April to October each year, for a period of three years, and not round the clock as requested.

The electricity suppliers, M/s RKM Powergen Pvt Ltd and M/s MB Power Madhya Pradesh Ltd, have also not accepted the conditions imposed by the HERC. The HPPC also requested that the remarks made against them in the order be expunged as the Commission had accused them of not doing enough to deal with the current power shortage and had approached them for approvals from source of energy and tariffs at the eleventh hour.

During a review hearing on May 4, HPPC attorney Samir Malik argued that sincere efforts had been made to procure electricity in anticipation of increased demand as well as supply constraints. He added that the situation “which has now arisen could not have been mathematically anticipated” and prayed that the derogatory remarks would be expunged.

With regard to the electricity shortage, the HPPC told the Commission that the situation had further worsened due to the reduction of production and supply by Lanco Amarkantak Unit-II, the shutdown of supply from Baglihar Hydro Electric Power and reduction in supply from GMR as well as the continued suspension of electricity supply from Dadri Thermal (Unit-II) in Haryana by the Delhi High Court.

After hearing the arguments, the Commission observed, “At this stage, the main concern of this Commission is the interest of electricity consumers in Haryana. According to reports, the planned power outage is around six to eight hours a day and there could also be unscheduled power outages. Such interruption of power supply, which is the lifeline, apart from the inconvenience and loss of productivity, can also lead to public order problems in the state.

MB Power was to supply 150 MW at Rs 5.7 per KWh, while M/s RKM PowerGen will supply 350 MW at Rs 5.75 KWh. HPPC arranges short and long term feeding on behalf of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam.