Cut SEB losses, says PM
Tribune News Service ant PTI

NEW DELHI, Dec 18 — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today sought a national consensus on agriculture power tariff to bring down the mounting losses of electricity boards (SEBs) and said farmers would be willing to pay reasonable rates for assured supply.

Asking the States to sink political differences to develop the crisis-ridden power sector which requires funds to the tune of Rs 2,50,000 crore till 2002, Mr Vajpayee told a conference of chief ministers that "if we take political power seriously, we must take the power sector seriously".

"Each year, state electricity boards (SEBs) lose more than Rs 6,000 crore. How long can this continue? Should not the tariff structure be rationalised? Should not the state governments ensure that their electricity boards do well?" he asked while regretting that majority of the states had not initiated steps to set up State Regulatory Commissions (SERC).

Blaming the poor health of SEBs with cumulative losses of over Rs 22,650 crore for lukewarm participation by the private sector, Mr Vajpayee said the ministry should set up a crisis regulation group to resolve so-called "last mile" problems of these power projects.

The Punjab Government today asked the Centre to lend greater support to power projects proposed to be set up by states.

Participating in the Power Ministers Conference here today, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister of Punjab, welcomed the emphasis on generation of hydro-electric power in the country, as contained in the national hydro-electric policy approved by the Central Government.

He said the Centre should give assistance to projects undertaken by the State Government. The Government of Punjab, he said, was keen to set up the 168-MW Shahpur Kandi project.

Capt Kanwaljit Singh said Punjab would encourage the setting up of power projects in the private sector. Already, a 500-MW thermal power plant is being set up at Goindwal in Amritsar district with participation of a private sector agency. A liquid fuel based power plant of 575-MW is also being set up. If there is adequate response, more such projects would come up, he said.

He also urged the Central Government and agencies like Coalfields which owe dues to the State Government to clear them expeditiously. He also wanted the Centre and the Finance Commission to give more powers in financial matters to the State.

The suggestion to impose a cess of 5 paise on power generation in the States, he said, was unwarranted because the cost of power generation and its development is met from state budgets.

The Punjab Finance Minister said that the freight equalisation scheme introduced by the Ministry of Railways had placed a heavy burden on States like Punjab because of which the cost of power generation had gone up, placing a heavy burden on the industry in the State.

The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, said that Haryana would be the first State in the country to prepare and implement a charter of consumer rights for consumers of electricity. This charter would clearly spell out the services to be provided by the power distribution companies to which each and every consumer in the State would have a legal right.

Mr Bansi Lal was speaking at a Conference of the Chief Ministers on power presided over by Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee and attended, among others, by the Union Power Minister, Mr P.R. Kumaramanglam here today.

While urging the Centre to take quick action in resolving inter-state issues regarding power supply, Mr Bansi Lal said that Haryana was being deprived of its rightful share of 290 MW from the Bhakra-Nangal project, 428 MW from the Beas project Unit-I and 564 MW from other projects utilising surplus Ravi-Beas waters because of the delay on the part of the Government of India in notifying the final sharing of power benefits. Although an inter-state agreement was signed in May, 1984, to refer the issue regarding the claim of different States in various hydel projects like Anandpur Sahib Hydel, Thein Dam project, Shahpur Kandi project, Mukerian Hydel scheme, UBDC Stage-II, etc to the Supreme Court, the Centre had not taken any action till date.

Pointing out that because of the denial of its rightful share of total 1282 MW cheap power, he said that Haryana had to purchase power from the grid at higher cost.

While informing the gathering about the measures taken by the State to push ahead its reforms programme in the power sector, Mr Bansi Lal said that having become the first State in the country to electrify all its villages in 1970, the State had once again set an example to the country by adopting the power reforms programme.

He pointed out that Haryana Electricity Reform Act was passed in June 1997 and a loan of over Rs 2,400 crore was got approved from the World Bank this year. The Haryana State Electricity Board was restructured in August last in two separate companies i e Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited and Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited. Also, the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission was set up in August this year.

The Chief Minister stressed the need for changing the work culture of the employees, saying that the reforms alone would not be enough to bring about major strategic changes.

The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, said the State with its vast hydro-electric potential of over 21,000 MW, could play a vital role in resolving the energy shortage and take the nation towards the "Power on Demand" motto projected as the national objective.

He urged the Central Government to provide fiscal incentives to private investors entrusted to invest in hydel power generation.

He said that hydro-electric projects entail heavy initial investments on account of land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and environmental restoration cost due to which private investors did not show much interest.

The Chief Minister also stressed the need to evolve mechanism for working out hydro tariff as well as for deciding the completed cost of hydro-projects and also to rationalise the hydro tariff in the light of New Hydro Policy.

He said that development of small hydro projects up to 3 MW had been commenced with enthusiasm in the State.

The policy of providing 50 per cent capital subsidy attracted the developers from all over the country and even from abroad to take up small projects in the State.

He urged Centre to restore this incentive in the interest of speeding up of execution of small projects in the State. He also urged Centre to raise the limit of MOU route for selection of developers from 100 MW to 30 MW.