THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There has been a nearly Rs 2,000 crore increase in the power purchase cost of KSEB Limited in a year making a tariff revision inevitable. The power purchase cost during 2016-17 has gone even beyond the estimate of KSEB Limited by over Rs 1,000 crore. Such an unprecedented push in purchase cost is the result of an unprecedented double whammy, the desertion of both the monsoons in a single year.
Virtually non-existent rains for a whole year have translated into weak hydel generation. Usually, hydel stations together generate over 7,000 million units annually. But during 2016-17 water was so scarce that hydel generation is expected to drop down to near 5,000 MU or even below it; there were days in November and December when the hydel generation was only 3 MU, just sufficient to sustain the plant.
This shortfall in hydel availability has been met by procuring power from traders and short term market. In 2015-16, 2995 MU was purchased from power traders at a cost of Rs 1737.29 crore. This fiscal, it was 7045.36 MU, an additional requirement of over 135 percent, at Rs 2829.31 crore. Further, in the previous fiscal, 217.80 MU was purchased from the short-term market at Rs 609.30 crore. On the other hand, this fiscal KSEBL had to depend on the costly short-term market for 1358 MU. If in 2015-16, the total power purchase cost was '6861.29 crore, this fiscal it is Rs 8739.91 crore, an increase of nearly Rs 2000 crore.
KSEBL’s estimate for total power purchase cost, prepared before the onset of south-west monsoon, was Rs 7637.74 crore. “It is heartening to find that the ERC has revised it to Rs 8,740 crore, but now we feel it would be even higher, above Rs 9000 crore,” a top KSEBL official said. KSEBL will reveal its new figures while it makes its presentation before the ERC on January 17.
What worked in the state’s favour even during the drought was the lower price of power in the open market. In 2015-16, the average power purchase cost was Rs 6-7 per unit. This fiscal it was below Rs 4 per unit. “Thanks to lower prices, the tariff hike will not be heavy,” the official said.
