Power minister refutes Piyush Goyal’s remark

PATNA: State energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav has contested Union power minister Piyush Goyal’s claim about “dismal power situation in Bihar” and said the comment was sad as well as surprising.
“Goyal said the Centre provides 98% of Bihar’s power needs, but the truth is the supply from the Centre is only 76% in peak hour. The central allocation is 2,633 MW but the supply is only 2,000 MW,” Yadav said, alleging the Centre’s laid-back attitude delayed the power projects in Bihar.
Bihar is preparing a long-term Power Purchase Agreement for trading power at cheaper rates, the minister said adding, “Goyal mentioned about 500MW power from the Barh Thermal Power Project. But, the reality is, power is supplied at Rs 5.90 per unit because the power plant has no rail line for coal transportation which is done via the roads. As a result, many states are not buying energy from Barh.”
The Union minister said the state does not generate power, Yadav said, but the Bihar government has signed agreements for power generation at Kajra, Buxar and Pirpainti.
“However, the Union government is yet to approve the proposal that 85% of power from these stations will go to Bihar despite the issue having been raised several times.”