Cesc Granted Hike In Fuel Surcharge

It also wants the heat rate in the use of coal by various power agencies to be comparable since they all use coal of similar quality.

If the state government sticks to its stance, there will be little scope for reconsidering CESC's request for a much higher fuel surcharge. The state government has granted an eight paise increase to raise the current fuel surcharge to 26 paise. The company had sought a 42 paise surcharge. Even the 26 paise level of the fuel surcharge is the highest among all the power agencies in the state.

The state government has also insisted that the company's fuel surcharge calculation will have to made at a maximum transmission loss of 14 per cent as per the guideline set by the D K Bose committee which had submitted its report three years ago.

 

However, the company finds this cut-off loss figure unreasonable. CESC's transmission loss shot up from 19.2 per cent in 1994-95 to 19.9 per cent in 1995-96.

The government is also suspicious of the high heat rate of coal used in CESC power stations. The heat rate has been claimed to be as high as 3,900 for each kilowatt hour of energy while West Bengal State Electricity Board and Durgapur Projects Ltd power stations have reported an average heat rate of within 3,200 for each kilowatt hour of energy.