Cea Flayed For Routing Tala Power

Eastern region power agencies have strongly raised its objection against the Central Electricity Authority's (CEA) decision to route the entire output from the 1,020 mw Tala hydroelectric power station in Bhutan exclusively to the northern region.

The Tala power station in Bhutan is now under construction by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). There will be six units of 170 mw each. The CEA decision to send the entire Tala output to the northern region was taken without consulting power agencies in the eastern region.

In separate communications to the CEA, the West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) alone has staked claim for 50 per cent of the Tala capacity. Bihar SEB has asked for a share of 20 per cent while the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) wants a share of 15 per cent.

Orissa has not asked for any share from Tala for the obvious reason that its mainstay is hydroelectric power within the state. As the WBSEB, BSEB and DVC have asked for a total of 85 per cent of Tala capacity, this will leave only 15 per cent of the capacity unallocated which may be allotted to the northern region.

The three agencies have decided to fight the issue together. Their objection to the Tala power being exclusively routed to the northern is based on several arguments. First, the eastern region has the worst thermal-hydel power capacity ratio among the five power zones in the country. The 1020 mw Tala hydro capacity could go a long way to correct the imbalance. This would bring greater stability to the eastern region grid, ensure a better transmission frequency, and, help to manage the peak demand situation better.

Second, the Tala power is likely to cvost under Rs 1.50 per unit. The eastern region is burdened with high cost thermal energy. The three power plants of the NTPC were set up in the 1980s and 1990s compared to NTPC plants in the northern and western regions.