MADC readies power purchase tender for Mihan

NAGPUR: Following green signal from chief minister's office, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has started the process of collecting data from Mihan units so that the tender for power purchase could be floated soon.
A MADC official told TOI the format of tender was ready and only the demand needed to be inserted in it. "The data is being collected for a block of 15 minutes.This will help us get the best possible deal," he said.
Explaining the need for collecting information in so much detail, the official said, "Different units in Mihan will have different work timings. Some may work round-the-clock, others in two shifts or one shift. Moreover, the timings of the one or two shift units may vary. We need to know how much power is required at a given moment. Hence, it is being done in blocks of 15 minutes. Load dispatch centres also do scheduling in blocks of 15 minutes," he said.
After the data are collected and collated they will be sent to CMO for clearance. Then a tender for power purchase will be floated. Many industries in Mihan had to go without power for months as the supplier Abhijeet Power did not get coal and, due to less demand, closed down its thermal power plant. It supplied power to these units through a diesel generator for four months and then stopped. The units went without power for two months.
Meanwhile, many units applied for MSEDCL connection, which supplied to them at Rs 10 per unit. Now Mihan units can hope to get power at cheap rates as the present rates are around Rs 4 per unit. After paying charges to Mahatransco for using its network, the rate will be around Rs 5 per unit.
A representative of a major unit in Mihan, which is getting MSEDCL supply, told TOI, "MSEDCL supply is very costly but we had no alternative. If MADC is able to supply cheaper power for some months without any glitches, all the industries in Mihan will switch over to MADC. After all, we had been promised a rate of Rs 2.90 per unit."