Gujarat is Power-deficit State
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in Electrical Appliances
A recent report published by the Ministry of Power has shattered the State Government’s claim that Gujarat is surplus in power. Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), Ahmedabad, has objected to the Energy Minister’s statement, making the claim of surplus power. Ironically,the monthly report of the ministry itself states that power shortage in Gujarat remained around 22 per cent during April and May 2007.
Ref. : ER/press/’07/Airin.21
A recent report published by the Ministry of Power has shattered the State Government’s claim that Gujarat is surplus in power. Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), Ahmedabad, has objected to the Energy Minister’s statement, making the claim of surplus power. Ironically,the monthly report of the ministry itself states that power shortage in Gujarat remained around 22 per cent during April and May 2007.
The power deficit remained 15.1 per cent during the non-peak hours with the supply of 7736 MW against the demand for 9109 MW. This deficit further increased to 21.9 per cent during the peak hours with the supply of 8376 MW against the demand for 10728 MW. The power shortage in the Western region remained 26.5 per cent with a deficit of 30.4 per cent in Maharashtra, 21.9 in Gujarat and 18.2 in Chhattisgarh. The Government’s claim of providing 24 hours’ power supply to villages under the Jyotir Gram Yojna is proved false by this report.
The Government’s stand on the surplus power in the State is exposed by the following details:
| Year | Maximum Demand – MW | Maximum Supply – MW | Deficit MWs | % |
| 2002-03 | 8641 | 7336 | 1305 | 15.1 |
| 2003-’04 | 9820 | 7204 | 2616 | 26.6 |
| 2004-’05 | 10162 | 7578 | 2584 | 25.4 |
| 2005-’06 | 9783 | 7610 | 2173 | 22.2 |
| 2006-’07 | 11619 | 8110 | 3509 | 30.2 |
| April-May’07 | 10728 | 8376 | 2352 | 21.9 |
It is surprising that, on one hand, the State Government has added a meagre 346 MW to the capacity during the past five years. On the other, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (GUVNL) has decommissioned 63.5 x 4 = 254 MW of Dhuvaran units and derated the capacities of two units from 140 MW to 100 MW each. The Government does not want to invest in State-owned Gujarat State Electricity Co. Ltd. (GSECL) nor has it gone for renovation and modernisation of old plants, bringing the State to this present crisis. The GUVNL sold 743 MUs to power-starving Maharashtra at Rs.3.38/unit and earned Rs. 200 crore, leaving the consumers in Gujarat in the dark.
The State Government, on other hand, has encouraged independent power producers (IPPs) to invest a huge amount of Rs. 25,000 crore in generation of 4955 MWs. The GUVNL has signed MoUs with Essar Power Ltd., China Light and Power Ltd., Torrent Power Ltd. and Adani Power Ltd. for the installation of mega power plants in Gujarat.
CERS has raised a question about the huge burden to be transferred to electricity consumers of Gujarat. Firstly, by purchasing expensive power from independent power producers and secondly burden of 55000 employees and officers of the State-owned seven electricity companies where the man-megawatt ratio is 11:1 compared to private companies like Torrent, Tatas and Reliance where this ratio is half of this.
CERS has also requested the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) to regulate these monopolies and make sure that this burden does not fall on the electricity consumers of Gujarat. CERS has regretted that even after four years of implementation of Electricity Act, these monopolies have not yet been made accountable.
The question arises, why the State Government is not allowing private companies to enter the distribution sector. Is the Government afraid of competition in the electricity sector of Gujarat?
Date : 20/08/2007 Pritee Shah
Place: Editor Ahmedabad Insight-The Consumer Magazine
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