Haryana power discom gets Japanese assistance

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Monday signed a loan agreement with the Government of India to provide 26,800 million yen (Rs ,604 crore approximately) of Japanese Official Development Assistance for the Haryana distribution system upgradation project. The agreement was signed in New Delhi by Shinya Ejima, Chief Representative of JICA in India and Rajesh Khullar representing the Ministry of Finance. The loan at a concessional interest rate of 0.80 per cent carries a repayment period of 20 years, with a grace period of six years.

The project aims to augment distribution facilities with increasing demand and reducing electricity distribution losses in Haryana, where rapid industrial development and economic growth have led to a drastic rise of electricity demand.

The loan funds will be utilised for bifurcation and trifurcation of overloaded feeders, construction of new substations, augmentation of existing substations, introduction of Automated Meter Reading, installation of meter pillar boxes and single phase and three face meters, and purchasing of other equipment such as power transformers, current and potential transformers, and vacuum circuit breakers.

The project will be executed by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. (UHBVN) covering the northern part of the state and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. (DHBVN) covering the southern part of the state. The project is expected to be completed by June 2019.