Gujarat to buy 3200 Mw from private producers

State's present installed capacity is 9,000Mw.

To meet the growing demand for power, the Gujarat government proposes to purchase 3,200Mw through the competitive bidding rate (CBR) from private producers. Besides, the government is setting up new power stations, ramping up capacity of the existing plants and improving the plant load factor.

The state's present installed capacity is 9,000Mw while the unrestricted demand is 11,500Mw resulting in a deficit of 2500Mw.

With the Jyotigram project consuming 16 per cent of the state's total electricity generation, the deficit is likely to increase in coming days.

Also, with power consumption going up in summers, there is a concern regarding power supply.

"Between January and the first week of March, there were 16 occasions when supply tripped. This has resulted in damages to electric appliances of farmers. The move will help us curb the problem," said a senior government official.

The government plans to add 11,164Mw by the end of 2012, taking the total installed capacity of the state to nearly 20,000Mw.

During the next year, projects such as Dhuvaran CCPP having a capacity of 472Mw and Kutch Lignite Thermal Power Station (KLTPS) unit IV (75Mw) will be set up by Gujarat State Electricity Company Ltd.