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With losses of Rs 2.5-lakh crore on their books, the state electricity boards will now have specific plans tailored for them by the Centre to help them turn around. State-wise plans would be aimed at reducing losses within the framework of the existing policies.
Union Minister of Power, Renewable Power and Coal Piyush Goyal said the Centre will hand hold the states and help them come out of the mess but they, too, would have to increase efficiency by ensuring a drastic check on power thefts, reduction in transmission and distribution losses and improve integrity by eliminating corruption and introducing economies of scale.
The Centre is likely to monitor the implementation of the state-wise plans. Goyal told Business Standard: “I don’t agree to the one-size-fits-all mechanism. State-wise plans for all the states will be ready within 12 months. We don’t need new funds. What we need is to implement existing programmes, such as Dindayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana and Integrated Power Development Scheme.”
He added: “When these schemes are implemented honestly in the state, and losses are cut, it will be helpful for everyone. It will also help them achieve the mission of uninterrupted power.”
Goyal quoted the Gujarat experience saying that after Narendra Modi took over the state chief minister the Rs 2,500 crore loss making state utility there was converted into a Rs 500 crore profit making one. ''I personally believe that a turnaround story of SEB is closely linked for getting 24x7 power to their people, efficiency improvement and integrity of business model honesty, corruption be eliminated,'' he opined.
Goyal said the BJP ruled states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa had had planned their finances well and SEBs well, they kept their cost under control. '' The previous government came out with the financial restructuring package in April 2012 and it took them 18 months to implement it in October 13. By that time losses had mounted further and effectively nothing has helped. All that it did was it reduced the short term borrowings converted that to a long term borrowing created more headroom to borrow further money. But effectively there was no efficiency improvement, fall in power thefts, decrease in T&D losses. It only deferred the problem by few years,'' he noted. He said Rajasthan is another example when Vasundhara Raje in 2008 had left the state which was almost 24x7 power but an healthy SEB was in five years of the Congress government was converted into an entity with Rs 70,000 crore deficit.
On the fuel availability, Goyal said there is a surplus coal today in the country but states are not lifting it as much it is required. “I have written to all chief ministers to lift more coal. Production of pit head projects may have to cut if states do not lift the coal. Even for any eventuality of monsoon being low we are fully geared to increase the generation of coal based power plants so that people do not suffer. Today there is hardly any plant which has critical stock. Most plants have 10-12 days and many plants have coal stock of 30-40 days. But states are not lifting as much as want them to lift. It is monitored on daily basis. Coal India has registered a record 11.9 per cent growth in the first 65 days off current fiscal. What is the critical factor is the availability of rakes,” the minister said.
As far as gas availability is concerned, Goyal said the constraining factor is the ability to convert LNG into gas. "We do not have enough regasification capacity. We are considering setting up break water at Dabhol project in Maharashtra to convert LNG into gas. Many other LNG plants are coming up. We are hopeful over the years with more LNG regasification facility, gas based plants will get the gas. It is the factor beyond my control. Gas based plants have secured gas during the recent reverse gas bidding process and they will continue to secure more in further rounds,'' he added.
