Power shock in store for Water Board

Hyderabad: The debt-ridden city Water Board is set to run into doldrums with the electricity tariff likely to go up in June in addition to increased power consumption with two water projects going live.

The  Board, which runs into deficit revenues every month, will face an additional Rs 5 crore burden following the revised power tariff and another Rs 40 crore for increased power consumption when Krishna and Godavari water projects come into force.

For treating, receiving, pumping and supplying water, the Board requires around 6.5 crore unit power every month. While each unit costs Rs 4.90, an additional Rs 1 is charged during peak hours. As a result the monthly power expenditure touches Rs 45 crore.

The revenue generated by the Board through new connection deposits and monthly water charges falls short to even pay staff and cover the entire power charges.
Thus, the Board is  falling short in paying its power bill every month to the tune of Rs 5 crore. It has an accrued debt of Rs 350 crore to pay to the electricity department, on which it pays an interest of Rs 3 crore.

On the other hand, the Krishna Phase-III and Godavari river projects will soon go live. Through these projects, an additional 272 million gallons of water will be drawn to the city, almost doubling the power consumption.  Presently, the Board’s power consumption is 6.5 crore units and these two projects are set to increase the power requirement by another 4.5 crore units and the overall power expenditure is set to cross Rs 90 crore.

This constant deficit status of the Board is preventing it from extending water services to the new areas, which are at present dependent on water tankers and ground water, said the officials as that would cost another Rs 2,000 crore.