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Punjab

Power engineers seeks review of PPAs with exorbitant electricity rates

July 14, 2019 03:38 PM

KOLKATA: All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) strongly opposes any amendment in Electricity Act aimed at to destroy public sector and pave the path for privatisation. The state governments must review the power purchase agreements with independent power producers having exorbitant electricity rates.

A meeting of Eastern India Power  Engineers Federation  was held today at Kolkatta  which was addressed by Shaliender Dubey Chairman and, Rathnakar Rao Secretary General of AIPEF, A K Dass Mahapatra President &  Moupli Mukhrjee General Secretary West Bengal unit, Prashant Patnaik from Odisha B R Mishra from Bihar and others.

AIPEF fully supports Andhra Pradesh Governments pledge to review PPA's done by previous Government in power purchase agreements, resulting in exorbitant tariffs. The tariff in solar power in some PPAs is about Rs. 15 per unit whereas the present trend is less than Rs. 3 per unit.

Shaliendra Dubey Chairman AIPEF  criticized the Central Power Minister R K Singh’s letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister asking him not to review PPA'S although Central Government and Ministry of Power both have batted for post bidding tariff hike and amended the tender conditions in the interest of investors like Adani Power, Tata Power & Essar, why the state government cannot amend PPAs in the public interest.

AIPEF is of considered view that every state government has right to revisit the power purchase agreements in the larger public interest who has to bear the brunt of higher tariff on account of these faulty PPA’s

V K Gupta Spokesperson AIPEF said that Federation  expresses its concern regarding the creation of a Joint venture of NTPC and Power Grid for the purpose of entering into the distribution business. The integrated State Electricity Boards (SEBs) were disintegrated and distribution and transmission were separated from generation. If a Generating company and a transmission company are to conduct distribution business this would amount to creation of an integrated utility. Thus Government of India has finally recognized the critical need to reintegrate the utilities and demands reintegration of SEBs.

AIPEF requests that government should introduce a separate section in National electricity Policy whereby the objective to integrate the state power sector is contained.  Government should issue directions to states to restructure and integrate all unbundled power utilities of state in the larger interest of state for better coordination and better consumer service.

A meeting of National Co-ordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers have been scheduled for July 31 to discuss these matters and to safeguard the power sector from privatisation.

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