UP POWER MIN FOR PRICE CAP ON ENERGY EXCHANGE POWER

LUCKNOW : Uttar Pradesh energy minister Shrikant Sharma on Thursday wrote a letter to Union power minister RK Singh recommending a price cap on the power sold through energy exchanges to prevent private companies from profiteering during the prevailing crisis situation, people aware of the issue said.

The minister acted after UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avadhesh Kumar Verma met Sharma and handed over a memorandum to him demanding an amendment to the central law to stop energy exchanges from taking undue advantage of crisis by selling power at an exorbitant price to needy states.

“Private companies handling energy exchanges have earned a profit of Rs 840 crore in 3 days by selling power at a very high price to states, including UP, that are forced to arrange additional power to meet the demand-supply gap caused due to the coal crunch in thermal plants,” Verma said in his memorandum.

He claimed that energy exchanges earned a profit of Rs 80 crore from UP alone in three days as the state had to buy power at price as high as Rs 17-Rs 20 per unit against the production cost of less than Rs 6 per unit. A senior UPPCL official also said the corporation bought 27 million units of power worth Rs 63 crore from the energy exchange for Rs 10.2 per unit on October 13 and 21 million units of power for Rs 16.5 per unit spending Rs 34 crore on October 14.

It is also revealed that government-owned 110 mw Harduaganj and 210 MW Parichha thermal houses did not operate on October 13 due to lack of coal supply while other government owned thermal plants generated 700 MW less power due to inadequate coal supply on that day.

“The Centre must bring a law to put a price cap on the power sold through energy exchanges because the burden of expensive power is ultimately passed on to hapless consumers,” he demanded in the memorandum. The minister, Verma said, forwarded his memorandum to the Union power minister with strong recommendations.