Govt to sell Potteru hydro power station

The state government has decided to sell unprofitable Potteru small hydro electric project (SHEP) having 6 MW generating capacity as part of its wasteful expenditure minimisation plan.

“Due to insufficient flow of water and weak embankment of the canal, the project is not feasible to generate more than 1.5 MW. The area is heavily naxal affected and Rs 52 lakh per year is being spent for watch and ward. Government approval has been taken for selling the SHEP,” the state energy secretary revealed during the interdepartmental coordination committee of secretaries recently.

The committee meeting was called to deliberate on the observations and directions given by the Odisha High Court in 2011-12 power tariff hike case. The court, after hearing the PIL filed by petitioner Keonjhar Nabanirman Parishad, had directed that the energy department must take steps to reduce unnecessary expenditure and collect pending bills to minimise cost of power purchase, which can be factored into while charging electricity units.

The government has decided to sell the project on “as-is-where” basis. The project was transferred to Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) in 1996 and its total cost upto 2009 was Rs 37 crore. The state water resources department has been asked to give its nod for the sale of the project.

The committee also decided that henceforth no project will be initiated without its approval.

The decision marks a change in government policy, which untill last year, was giving more emphasis on smaller hydro projects to meet the energy requirement of the state saying that it has signed enough agreements to produce about 35,000 MW of thermal energy.

The water resource department earlier said, by 2020, the state would be able to get close to 1,500 MW power from 10 small hydro projects. But as per the recent decisions, all these projects now have to be screened by the committee which might delay their commissioning.

However, during the discussion, the committee focused on modernisation of existing hydel plants as well as un-tapping potential of other hydro projects.

“The committee decided that OHPC should initiate renovation and modernization of old hydro power stations. It was also decided to initiate some of the potential hydro power stations like Balijhori, Middle Kolab and Salki etc,” the committee said.