Paying extra cost for reliable power supplies

Corporate Reporter

A ‘reliability surcharge’ of 50 paise per unit can support rapid capacity build-up

CHENNAI: The real cost of power to the Indian consumers is higher than they realise and consumers are paying a high price because of power outages that are rampant across the country. On the other side, there are consumers like in Mumbai, who benefit from a 24X7 reliable power supply by paying a reliability charge, according to a study commissioned by Wartsila India through a consulting firm. A ‘reliability surcharge’ of 50 paise per unit could support rapid capacity build-up. This surcharge would be far less than the extra charges consumers are incurring today, the company says.

Releasing the findings of the study named “The real cost of power” here, M. Rajagopalan, Vice-President (Southern Region), Wartsila India, said customers were willing to pay a little extra for reliable power. Given the gap in power demand and supply, some cities face severe outage only during the peak power usage season, other cities face chronic outage almost throughout the year. The only way to tackle outage in peak hours would be to have generator sets. Mr. Rajagopalan said instead of using invertors small-sized gensets could be used.

While initiatives such as the setting up of ultra mega power plants will hopefully help in adding base load capacities, Wartsila believes that it is time to look at other complementary technologies and solutions to impart much-needed flexibility in peak load management.