DVC wants to supply power to Haldia industrial zone

Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has approached the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC) for allowing it to supply power to the Haldia industrial zone. The company is planning to set up transmission and distribution facilities so that it can supply power to the industrial belt directly from the Grid.

Haldia at present falls under the West Bengal State Electricity Boards (WBSEB) jurisdiction and power is also supplied by the same. The zone has industrial units like Haldia Petro Chemical, Chemical division of Hindustan Lever, Exide's batter manufacturing units along with other HPL downstream units consuming bulk electricity.

To this effect the company had asked for allowing it to supply power to the area to which the WBERC has replied. Officials from DVC at present are evaluating the legal aspect to the issue.

Experts in the field said, if DVC was allowed to supply power to Haldia it could very well supply power to other industrial zones of West Bengal "" leading to reduced power demand for WBSEB which is going through a heavy financial crisis. The WESEB chairman declined to comment on the issue.

If DVC gets to supply power to the Haldia industrial belt, WBSEB which is reeling under transmission and distribution losses will loose a few major customers to the former "" increasing its woes. DVC also has the freedom to fix its own tariff which WBSEB at present does not have. This could mean that DVC would be supplying to Haldia at a price that would be lower than what WBSEB was supplying at.

DVC has also written to respective Electricity Regulatory Commissions (ERC) for allowing it to supply power to certain regions in Jharkhand, Ranchi and Aditpur.

The DVC Act under which, DVC was incorporated had a designated area where it could supply power directly, it supplies rest of the power to the grid. The DVC jurisdiction, popularly called the DVC valley has three areas commanding a total area of 24235 sq km in physical & economic terms.

The upper valley, covers districts of Hazaribagh, Kodarma, Giridih, Chatra, Dhanbad & Bokaro. It cover districts of Palamau, Ranchi, Lohardaga and Dumka, partially in Jharkhand. The Lower valley area covers two districts fully "" Burdwan and Hooghly, and three districts partially, Howrah, Bankura and Purulia in West Bengal.

DVC exported around 170.8 million units of power in 2002-03.