In the UT of Chandigarh, where the administration recently sent a cabinet note on the power privatisation project to the ministry of home affairs (MHA), infrastructure on the ground is crumbling. Frequent power cuts underline the neglect of the last two years, when the administration’s sole focus on privatisation stalled efforts to strengthen power infrastructure, leading to long cuts during the height of summer.
For the UT electricity department, providing uninterrupted power to city residents has always been a challenge. UT adviser Dharam Pal recently hauled up power department officials over slow progress of work on smart electricity meters in Chandigarh. He has now called a joint meeting of the company which was allotted work and UT power department officials.
It does not take much to snap power supply in city. Miki Mehta of Sector 40 said besides regular one to two hour long power cuts, rain and wind could trip supply any time.
Shobit Singh of Sector 33 said the department should strengthen their infrastructure and complaint redressal system. When questioned, he said, department officials blamed faults in the power supply line from Mohali for cuts in Chandigarh. He also suggested annual repairs before the summer and monsoon season every year.
In its multi-year tariff petition submitted before the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), UT electricity department mentioned peak hour demand—period of high consumer demand in the coming years. In the MYT, the department submitted that peak hour demand would reach 448 MW in 2021-22. Sources attributed the crisis to consumers failing to declare power load.
“Consumers first take a connection but with time, they get more and don’t declare their load. This affects our infrastructure, causing breakdowns. Consumers need to understand that we will be able to provide proper supply based on their load. They must declare their actual power consumption to the department,” an official said.
UT electricity department planned to improve its power infrastructure. According to official records, there are five 33 KV substations and 13 66 KV sub-stations in the city. As per norms, a sub-station has a life span of 25 years. Six 66 KV sub-stations have exceeded this period and more will follow. After the power privatisation process, plans to strengthen infrastructure have remained on paper. The department had prepared a detailed project report (DPR) for upgrade of infrastructure, which it planned to execute in a phased manner over the next 20 years at a cost of Rs 2,773 crore. Sources said that the project was stalled and now, the private company which will be finalised under the power privatisation project will continue the work. The electricity department caters to 2.47 lakh consumers divided into nine categories. According to official figures, of the total consumers, 2.14 lakh are domestic, accounting for more than 87% of the total. The remaining 23% belong to other categories, commercial, small power, medium supply, large supply, bulk supply, public lighting, agriculture power and temporary supply.
Kolkata firm won bid with Rs 817 crore:
Recently, the UT’s empowered committee of power privatisation, under the chairmanship of UT adviser Dharam Pal, approved Kolkata based Eminent Electricity Distribution’s highest bid for privatisation of the electricity department at Rs 817 crore against the reserve price of Rs 174 crore. On August 5, the administration informed Punjab and Haryana high court that the process of getting cabinet nod for UT’s power privatisation project would take two to three months more and submitted that the petition challenging privatisation project was premature.
UT does not have a power plant:
Chandigarh does not have its own power plant and buys from central generating stations such as Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, Bhakra Beas Management Board, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN). Power allocation from each station is fixed for a year, while the deficit is met through an unallocated quota and short-term power purchase.
