More funds to boost hydel power generation

The government has said almost 70 per cent of the overall budgetary allocation for the power sector during the current Plan period will be provided to state-owned utilities involved in hydel power generation.

According to Power Secretary RV Shahi, of the total budgetary support of Rs 25,000 crore to the sector, Rs 17,000 crore will go to hydro-power public sector undertakings (PSUs) during the Plan period.

"The government has given a major thrust to hydel power generation. Of the 50,000 Megawatt initiative launched by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last year, 50 per cent of the projects have already been studied and identified," Shahi said at an international conference on hydel power here.

Shahi also said the current fiscal would end with the best ever hydel power generation at 2,500 Mw, surpassing the previous best of 1,300 Mw.

Tapping hydel power generation sources would not only provide an enduring solution to the power shortage in the country, but also help reduce power tariffs to about Rs 2 per unit, Shahi said.

"Our objective is not only to provide power to all by 2012, but also at affordable prices," Shahi added.

Shahi, however, expressed concern over the hydel-thermal balance in power generation. He said of the 50,000-Mw hydel power generation initiative, projects with a total capacity of 27,000 Mw had been identified and work on all these would start soon.

Speaking at the conference, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Chairman and Managing Director Yogendra Prasad said the country's hydro-power potential was estimated at about 2,50,000 Mw, which made India the fifth in the world in terms of available hydro potential.