Himachal to sell power to Karnataka, Rajasthan

problem of plenty
MUNISH BANYAL

Shimla

After having a bitter experience with Uttar Pradesh, the state government has decided to sell surplus power to Rajasthan and Karnataka governments. The state sold power in bulk at Rs 4.30 per unit to Uttar Pradesh last year, but it is yet to pay about Rs 200 crore to Himachal Pradesh.

The state has been doing a brisk business by selling power to neighbours during summer season. However, this season the government has found few buyers as its cash- starved customers have opted for load-shedding. Due to less demand of power from other states, Himachal Pradesh is forced to sell power at cheaper rates as electricity once generated cannot be stored. During summers,Himachal Pradesh has been selling power to other states but the rates have crashed from Rs 7.50 per unit last year to Rs 3.75 per unit this year, pulling down profit-per-unit from over Rs 3 per unit to 18 paise. The cash-starved power distribution boards in various states have preferred to impose power cuts to procuring electricity.

It is worth mentioning that the HP government is getting around 800 MW power from various hydro projects running in the state as free power and equity power. “We are in need of regular buyers of power who are ready to pay good price. The state government is looking into the possibilities of long-term purchase agreements with other states. The Rajasthan and Karnataka governments have shown their willingness to purchase power from the state,” HP Directorate of Energy Chief Engineer Subhash Gupta said.

The regular buyers of electricity from Himachal during the peak summer have been Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

With the commissioning of more hydropower projects in private sector, the

power generation capacity of Himachal Pradesh is expected to enhance by 1500 MW shortly.

These projects include 1,000 MW Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Project in Kinnaur district and 192 MW Allain Duhangan project in Kullu district. The 12 per cent free power from these projects as royalty is expected to increase the earning of the state from power sale.