PHD Chamber pitches for national hydro authority & hydro storage projects
PHD Chamber has suggested setting up of the National Hydro Authority on the pattern of National Highways Authority to expedite identification and development of hydro projects including mega projects and completion of such projects in time on the pattern of ultra thermal power projects. In the case of ultra thermal power plants, having generation capacity of 4000 MWs and above, the Government set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for land acquisition, according clearances in advance, building linkages between power stations and coal pit heads etc. to overcome the time over runs.
This is the upshot of the Conference of State Power Secretaries organized by PHD Chamber this week in Delhi. Releasing the major recommendations of the Conference, Mr. Ravi Wig, Chairman of NRD Council, PHD Chamber said, “Government as well as industry has to work in tandem to harness the vast hydro potential of the country. The storage hydro projects have definite advantages over the Run of the River Hydro projects. They are geologically sound and do not lead to any silt formation apart from meeting the drinking water, irrigation and augmenting power generation.
Pitching for development of Storage Hydro Projects, Mr Wig said that such projects, however, need to focus on rehabilitation of displaced people. The project developers have to take responsibility for satisfactory rehabilitation of displaced people in a time bound manner.
The other recommendations of the Conference include :
- Enhancing the role of private sector in investment in hydro. Appropriate policies, which attract private sector investments, should be rolled out as it happened in the case of wind power. For example 97 per cent of wind power has been developed in private sector
- Energy resources, particularly hydro have to be treated as national assets. Such resources have to be harnessed to the advantage of the entire nation and parochial and divided interest terming it as exclusive right of the States where they physically belong to, should be shunned. This would help paving the way for balanced growth of the country and obviate the sporadic skirmishes on the territorial rights on such resources.
- The State utilities need to step up purchases of power under Case I bidding. This process will ensure availability of power to the States at a reasonable cost in the long term. The State utilities have to be brought under a regulatory framework, in the long run, whereby they will have an obligation to supply power to all.
- Develop an appropriate infrastructure for transmission of power for merchant power plants (independent power producers (IPPs
- Independent Power Producers should take a long term view for taking investment decisions, since the cost will work out to be much less than in the short run. There is a tendency among IPPs to look at short term contracts as a basis of their investment decisions.
- Prior freezing of resettlement and rehabilitation policy and compensation package and also for obtaining Ministry of Environment and Forest clearances. These should be final and binding on the States.
- States need to sincerely adopt policies to facilitate speedy setting up of large number of hydro power projects. While allotting the project sites, milestones should be fixed for early development of projects & achievements of the milestones should be closely monitored by the designated authority
Mr Anil Razdan , Union Secretary Of Power assured that the PHD Chamber that recommendations shall be looked at the right earnest by the Government of India.
Power secretaries and officials from Haryana, Punjab, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, UP and Rajasthan participated in the Conference.
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