BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) on Thursday heard the tariff proposals of two State-run power generating companies amidst protest by Odisha Rajya Bidyut Upavokta Mahasangha.
The Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC), which has filed its annual revenue requirement (ARR) application for the first time, urged OERC to approve the generation tariff of Rs 2.82 per unit (the rate at which it will sell power to Gridco) for 2016-17.
OERC in its April 27, 2015 order had directed OPGC to file an application for determination of tariff as per the approved amended power purchase agreement (PPA) with Grid Corporation of Odisha Limited (Gridco), the bulk power supplier to the State.
The Commission had approved a tariff of Rs 2.10 per unit while determining the bulk supply by Gridco for the current financial year 2015-16. OPGC has asked for a tariff hike of 71.87 paise per unit for the ensuing fiscal.
Considering the last five years, average plant load factor (PLF) of 81.46 per cent and auxiliary consumption of 9.5 per cent, OPGC has proposed to generate 2712.25 million unit (MU) during 2016-17 as against the last year (2015-16) approval of 2838.27 MU in Gridco tariff order.
Stating that the capital cost of 420 MW (2X210 MW) capacity IB Thermal Station is Rs 1060 crore, OPGC requested the regulatory body to compute the tariff on the basis of the project cost.
Gridco and other five objectors requested the Commission not to accept OPGC’s proposal for 81.46 per cent PLF since the PLF of NTPC station is much higher. They asked the Commission to direct OPGC to produce relevant document to support its claim before taking a decision on the issue.
Projecting its annual revenue requirement for 2016-17 at Rs 799.72 crore, the Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) urged OERC to approve an average cost of Rs 1.43 per unit against 82.57 paise per unit approved by the Commission for 2015-16. OHPC has asked for a hike of 60.52 paise per unit.
The State-run Corporation has projected design energy of 5588.79 MU for sale. It has estimated energy drawal of 262.50 MU at an average cost of 47.92 paise per unit from Machhkund hydro power station of Andhra Pradesh Government.
As OHPC has demanded a compensation of Rs 145.62 crore to meet the present deficit on account of hydrology failure last year, the seven objectors requested the Commission to issue suitable instruction to the State Government for efficient use of water from Hirakud and other reservoirs.