Attar Singh
Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 31
PSEB Engineers’ Association here today cautioned the state government and the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) management against re-bidding of 1,320 MW Rajpura thermal plant in order to award the work to some private developer. With Punjab State Regulatory Commission declining to give approval to the unreasonable rates quoted by the single bidder for the Rajpura project and the failure of the other power projects conceived by the state government and the board to take off, the only viable option is to take up this project under state sector.

HS Bedi and Bhupinder Singh, president and secretary of the PSEB Engineers Association, said here today for the past over two years, the PSEB and the state government were trying to build three new thermal plants of 5,940 MW capacity identified at Talwandi Sabo through private developers but the actual work had still not been started.

They said the state government had erred by putting all its eggs in one basket by depending entirely on private developers despite repeated pleas of the association to take up one plant in the state sector and second in joint venture with the NTPC in order to diversify capacity addition programme.

About two years back, all three technical members of the board, in a joint note, opined that out of Talwandi and Rajpura plants, at least one should be taken up in the state sector. Even full board had recommended setting up of plant under state sector to the government.

The claim of the state government that Punjab will become power-surplus state in the next three to four years is not based on ground realities. Work at Talwandi Sabo thermal plant awarded to Vedanta group in August 2008 is yet to start with the group demanding various concessions. which is totally illegal after award of work. Where Gidderbaha project is concerned, with coal linkage issue with Ministry of coal still unresolved, the bidding process has been held up.

To set up 1,320 MW Rajpura plant, Punjab has to contribute approximately Rs 270 crore per year for four years as its equity (20 per cent) whereas 80 per cent would be arranged through loan. For a state government which is paying a subsidy of over Rs 2,600 crore per annum to PSEB on account of free power to agricultural sector and other categories, mobilisation of Rs 270 crore per year should not be an issue.

Any delay in project commissioning would result in the PSEB having to purchase the power from the market and grid at rates which may be as high as Rs 7 to Rs 10 per unit, the cost implication of delayed project commissioning itself would be enormous.