'Odisha needs investment in power distribution projects'

As power generation capacities have gone up, Odisha needs investor participation in various distribution network strengthening schemes floated by the state government, energy minister said today.

“There is enough investment potential in distribution sector, but we do not have serious investors coming forward to take the benefit of the schemes announced by my government. We need investment in distribution sector now,” said Pranab Prakash Das, minister of state (independent charge) for Department of Energy at Odisha Energy Conclave seminar organised by Indian Chambers of Commerce (ICC) here.

The state has signed agreements with 29 companies to produce thermal power with generation capacity of nearly 37,000 Mw and also has entered into arrangement with various companies for supply of renewable energy (small hydro, solar and biomass power) with installation capacity of nearly 800 Mw. Projects totalling thermal power capacity of 20,000 Mw is under various stages of implementation as of now.

“There is no problem regarding installation of generation capacities. The real problem lies in strengthening the distribution sector,” said Pradeep Kumar Jena, state energy secretary during the ICC seminar.

So far, the state government has approved nine projects of around Rs  11,000 crore for strengthening power transmission network.

The energy department is working on disaster resilient transmission and distribution system in Ganjam district with a total project cost of Rs 1,000 crore. It has requested Asian Development Bank (ADB) to lend Rs 713 crore for the project.

However, it is not finding suitable manufacturers and engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contractors to come forward for implementation of the schemes.

“Several tenders of OPTCL worth Rs  800 crore attracted nil participation. Similarly, there was no takers for smart metering tender of Reliance Infra-operated discoms,” said Hemant Kumar Sharma, managing director of Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (OPTCL).

Though the state government has planned to fund these projects by external assistance and from budgetary allocation, it is also in the look out for investment by private players for buying equipment on lease basis and for EPC works.

The disaster resilient power network scheme of the state government include building robust infrastructure in areas within 50 kilometers of coast with an investment of Rs  1,820 crore, which will be completed by 2017. A disaster response centre has been decided to be set up with an expenditure of Rs  175 crore in next two years.

The energy department has also come up with a project named State Capital Region Improvement of Power System (SCRIPS) to ensure reliable and quality power supply with a total investment of Rs  1,500 crore in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack region.

About Rs 1450 crore will be spent on radial to ring conversion project in next three years, dedicated to minimise transmission loss.

Other projects include strengthening of district headquarters power system with total investment of Rs 200 crore and a smart grid project for entire state with Rs 380 crore expenses in next three years.

It has earmarked Rs 4,400 crore to be spent in two projects for establishing transformers, substations and dedicated feeders for agriculture.