The State power utilities have initiated the process for procuring 2,400 MW power on a long term basis from thermal power stations to bridge the demand supply gaps as and when they arise.
The procurement would be made on public private partnership mode on design, build, finance, operate and own (DBFOO) basis. Prospective power plants should have CIL approved coal linkage with commercial operations date scheduled before Dec 31, 2016 and the fuel requirement should be supplemented by imported coal.
The utilities extended the last date for submission of the request for qualification documents till Dec. 15 and some changes had been made in the RFQ document uploaded on the websites of AP Transco and the two distribution companies. Accordingly, the minimum capacity has been brought down from 20 per cent (480 MW) to eight per cent (192 MW) of bid capacity.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed the officials to prepare plans to meet the expected increase in demand besides ensuring fuel security by encouraging coal imports and tying up of new coal linkages. Thermal power plants should be operated at more than 90 per cent plant load factor and the utilities should fast track transmission projects to ensure easy import of cheaper power from other parts as and when required.
The government had set for itself the target of achieving single digit transmission and distribution losses and the programme envisages investments upwards of Rs. 30,000 crore. In addition, the officials concerned had been directed to formulate policies for achieving 15,000 MW generation through green energy, solar and wind, by 2019. Special mechanism should be adopted for tapping sizeable funds from the centrally-sponsored schemes like Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameena Jyoti Yojana and Integrated Power Development Scheme.
