Power projects cost may soar owing to public stir

Growing public resistance against new power projects and drawing power lines from other States is leading to an exorbitant increase in project costs and a six-fold hike in transmission costs.

Power Department sources told The Hindu on Wednesday that the transmission cost per unit is likely to increase from 30 paise to Rs.1.80 a unit and this would invariably force Kerala State Electricity Board Limited to burden the consumer with a substantial tariff hike.

An astronomical hike has become imperative in the cost of a project envisaged by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) for drawing an 800-kV bipole link from Raigarh in Chhattisgarh to Madakathara in north Thrissur through Pugalur in Tamil Nadu. The paradox is that while the estimated cost of the line is Rs.26,000 crore, a 2,000-MW power generation project can be set up in the State for Rs.10,000 crore.

Overhead lines with an 89-metre width will be drawn up from Raigarh to the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Securing right of way for drawing the line would not be a problem in any of the States, except Kerala, and that would force the PGCIL to reduce the width of the line to 38 metres and scale down the capacity to 380 kV. This would warrant an investment of Rs.2,000 crore. Also, the corporation will have to shift to underground cables for bringing power to the State.

The cost of laying underground cable has been estimated at Rs.10 crore per km. In addition to such technical problems, tackling the protests against laying the lines and allaying public fears is a real challenge before the KSEB and the government. The resistance in drawing overhead lines has forced the PGCIL to opt for underground lines. Even then chances of opposition against land acquisition cannot be ruled out, sources said.

For, the project for carting power from Kudankulam by drawing a line from Tirunelveli to Edamon and from there to Kochi continues to remain in limbo. The cost of the project, scheduled to be commissioned in 2010, was estimated at Rs.300 crore, but the government had to announce an additional compensation package of Rs.1,000 crore and still it has not materialised. Though the chances of internal power generation are too bleak and the power demands are consistently soaring, there is no let up in public protest and that makes power transmission an exorbitant affair. The PGCIL is reluctant to make more investment in the State too, sources said.