Eastern Grid Begins Supply To Western States

On Monday, for the first time, the western region is being fed with power from the East.

The flow of power began in a small way but was soon raised to 150 mw, the maximum amount fixed for the inter-region power exchange.

Madhya Pradesh first initiated talks for import of eastern region power. However, others states in the western region which too are facing a severe power shortage requested Madhya Pradesh to share the import with them. Madhya Pradesh agreed with some reluctance.

The export began even before a formal commercial agreement was signed among the Western Region Electricity Board (WREB), the importing states and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), the exporter. NTPC is making available 150 mw from all the three thermal power stations it has in the eastern region.

 

Under a pre-determined formula approved by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), 75 mw of the power is being allocated from theTalcher power station, 45 mw from the Kahelgaon station and the rest 30 mw from the Farakka station.

The significance of this allocation lies in different rates of tariff. Talcher being the most recent station, its tariff is the highest among the three, followed by Kahelgaon and Farakka.

The formula of sharing the imported power among the western region states has been finalised among themselves. The WREB has the task of checking the drawal by each importer and send the details to NTPC for billing.