Revive hydro power sector: IPPs to govt

SHIMLA: Independent power producers (IPPs) here have asked the Central expert committee, constituted by the Ministry of Power, to ensure that the Central and state governments “treat hydro power projects on a par with renewable source of energy like solar and incentivise this sector to give boost to the power scenario in Himachal”.

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 5

Independent power producers (IPPs) here have asked the Central expert committee, constituted by the Ministry of Power, to ensure that the Central and state governments “treat hydro power projects on a par with renewable source of energy like solar and incentivise this sector to give boost to the power scenario in Himachal”.

The state government has been seeking bids for the 35 power projects for the last four years or so, but it got bids for only 11 power projects, which are comparatively viable, said the IPPs. The state claimed to have relaxed norms for projects on Chenab basin in Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi, but most of remaining 24 projects are located in remote locations in the state where there is no road connectivity while evacuation of electricity remains a major problem as there is no transmission corridor, they argue.

The Central expert committee on hydropower, which is headed by a former chairman of Central Water Commission to revive hydro sector in India, should consider their demand to revive the hydropower sector in country, said IPPs. “We are suggesting that the Centre and state should join hands and incentivize hydropower projects by treating it as a reliable renewable source of energy”, said a senior manager of IPP company.

IPPs plead that the Central government is focusing on harnessing solar energy despite the fact that the “hydropower remains more reliable and renewable power source in wild weather conditions”. During the monsoons in the months of July, August and September availability of solar power is a big problem in India, even in cold deserts of Lahaul-Spiti and Ladakh, where the Centre is trying to develop “solar energy hubs”. Evacuation of this green energy across snowbound Passes remains a big question.

On the other hand, rivers have enough water discharge and hydropower provide relatively reliable power supply, IPPs managers plead. The state and Central governments have incentivized solar power projects, but no such thing has been done for hydropower sector, he added. The government should improve road connectivity on the project sites. The cost of producing electricity from the 24 power projects located in remote locations is bound to shot up from Rs 6 per unit to Rs 9 whereas the electricity is being sold about Rs 3 per unit in the country, the IPPs managers said.

They further fear that when these projects are actually commissioned the cost may go up to Rs 10 or Rs 11 per unit as working season is limited to six months in snowbound areas. Further, the government has included the costs like local area development fund and 12 per cent free power that make projects even more expensive and unviable”, added the project engineers.