Consumers in the Capital are paying as much as Rs. 400 crore annually for buying power from four fuel guzzling power generation plants. Power consumers would be spared this hefty amount if the Delhi government decides to shut or revamp them.
According to experts, electricity purchased from the Delhi government’s four generation plants is 70 per cent higher than that of other State Generation Stations (SGS). Experts also point out that the ailing Rajghat Power House (RPH) can be locked down immediately as the city’s three power distribution companies have stopped purchasing power from the plant since May this year.
The 25-year long power purchase agreement (PPA) of the discoms for the Rajghat plant expired in May and the discoms are in no mood to renew the agreement. The plant, therefore, has been rendered permanently defunct for the first time since it was established. A nightmare in terms of its tonnes of toxic emissions, power experts suggest it is about time for the Delhi government to finally shut the oldest and the lone functional coal-based power plant in the city.
When contacted, Delhi Power Minister Satyendra Jain said, “We are aware of the Rajghat plant and a decision to shut it down permanently will be taken only in October. We are waiting for the peak summer to pass. We need to keep it as a back-up for now.”
Be it RPH or Bawana gas-based plant, the gencos of Delhi have actually flopped when it comes to efficiency. Unfortunately, the absence of efficiency only burdens consumers with higher power tariffs as the discoms buy power from these power plants at exorbitant rates.
The average cost of power purchased from the four Delhi government owned generation plants is Rs. 6 per unit. At the same time, the average cost of power purchased from generation stations in other States is even less than Rs 3. To name a few, Gujarat government’s power generation units sell power at Rs. 3.21 per unit, Uttar Pradesh’s is priced at Rs. 3.03, for Assam it is Rs. 2.70, Madhya Pradesh has Rs. 2.45, Haryana sells it for Rs. 3.89, Kerala for Rs. 1.09 and Rajasthan for Rs. 2.99.
Although Delhi’s distribution companies draw about 16 per cent of power from State owned generation units, the money to be paid for it is huge. Shutting the Rajghat plant alone would save the Delhi government around Rs. 292 crore which it currently spends to run the station.
