VIJAYAWADA: With improvement in coal arrivals to thermal units and an increase in thermal power production, the procurement of energy from exchanges by the Discoms has come down. The prices in the spot market, which touched Rs 20 per unit in the last week, have come down drastically, thereby easing the burden on the already beleaguered power utilities.
While the off-peak prices have come down to as low as Rs 3.01 per unit (not the landed cost) on Wednesday, the peak hour price remained at Rs 20 per unit at the exchanges, according to Union Ministry of Power’s portal. The State power utilities procured about 748 MW between 11.30 am and 12 pm, when the per unit price at exchange stood at Rs 3.15.
Although the prices on Wednesday (holiday) remained low, they were marginally higher than Tuesday’s rate at the exchange. The prices remained between Rs 3 per unit and Rs 4 per unit until 4 pm. However, during peak hours after 6 pm, the prices again touched Rs 20 per unit. In the 15-minute block from 6.30 pm to 6.45 pm, the per unit price at the exchange was at Rs 20, up from Rs 9 the previous day, and the Discoms purchased about 2,200 MW. Similarly, they purchased 2,500 MW between 7 pm and 7.30 pm at Rs 20 per unit.
Sources in the Discoms said while the prices have come down in the off-peak hours, peak hour prices may take some time to be back to normal. “Some States are still seeing deficit power due to various reasons. Until they have deficit power, the prices in the spot market are likely to fluctuate and touch higher than normal prices because demand will be higher than the supply. With regard to us, we have managed to ramp up our power generation using various sources. There has been no deficit in the last few days,” a senior official explained.