Uttarakhand to opt for power sharing with states

This follows a couple of proposals sent to the Power Secretary by state-owned Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL) in the wake of interest shown by power trading companies like Power Trading Corporation (PTC) and Vinergy International Pvt Ltd to purchase power from the hill state.

While PTC is ready to buy electricity at Rs 7 per unit, a similar proposal for 120 Mw of round-the-clock (RTC) electricity for a period of five months, beginning June 1, had also come from Vinergy.

The UJVNL has received a letter from S P Verma, vice-president of Vinergy, which wants to purchase power at Rs 5 per unit from it, which generates 150 Mw of surplus power. UJVNL Chairman Yogendra Prasad said all these proposals have been sent to the government for final decision.

Uttarakhand has power banking agreements with states like Delhi, Punjab and Haryana and does not sell its power. However, nearly 5 million units of power from Uttarakhand is supplied to the northern grid with the hill state showing no interest in selling power to the power trading companies.

"In my opinion, it will be better to sell power to companies like PTC," said Prasad.

The UJVNL, which has an installed capacity of 1,300 Mw generates 770 Mw. It also targets to increase its installed capacity to 1,880 Mw by 2012.

When contacted, an official of the power department said any decision regarding the sale of power from Uttarakhand rests on the shoulders of Chief Minister B C Khanduri, who also has the power portfolio.

"As of now, we are more interested in fulfiling our power banking obligations. Other issues like sale of power will come at a later stage," the official said.