CM calls for consensus on power tariff

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, MARCH 3. The Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, today called for a national consensus on power tariff for agriculture and rationalisation of tariff, including reduction of cross subsidies. The consensus should be binding on the State constituents of the political parties, he said.

In a speech, copies of which were circulated to the participants of the Conference of Chief Ministers and Power Ministers in New Delhi and made available here, Mr. Krishna hoped the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, would take a bold initiative on the consensus, enabling all-round support for power sector reforms.

On the need for a National Grid, Mr. Krishna said such a system would facilitate transmission of power from one region to the other without many hurdles. ``I hope the Government of India will take immediate steps in this direction. A strong National Grid will go a long way in stabilising the power transmission in the country,'' he felt.

Mr. Krishna said the State Government visualised an additional power capacity requirement of about 4,000 MW in the next ten years. Of this, ``the Government expects to add about 2,000 MW in the next five-year period,'' he said.

To meet the future needs, he recommended to the Centre to set up a 2,000 MW NTPC plant in the State on regional allocation basis as per the MoU signed between the Union and State Governments in February 2000; extend capital subsidy to power plants producing energy from renewable and non-conventional sources; reduction of rate of return on equity of central generating stations from 16 per cent to 12 per cent; excise relief to naptha; and exemption from excise duty on ash produced in thermal plants and financial support to the State's Rural Electrification Corporation (REC). Mr. Krishna said the State Government had put in place a firm time line of power reforms (16 to 24 months), including privatisation of distribution and strengthening of the transmission utility keeping in view the evolving role of KPTCL and power market development during the reform process. ``Based on our commitment to power sector reforms, the World Bank has come forward to assist Karnataka in a big way,'' he added.

The Chief Minister said the Union Government's power reform policy should make available the raw materials and power generating equipment to the reforming States at competitive costs and they should be exempted from taxes and duties.On the transmission and distribution losses, Mr. Krishna referred to the Financial Restructuring Plan for the Karnataka power sector over a 10-year-period which projected that the losses would be reduced from 36.5 per cent in 2000-01 to 16 per cent by 2010.

Investment required for this purpose, and to strengthen the system to meet anticipated growth in the next 10 years was estimated at Rs. 13,500 crore.

Thanking the Centre for launching the Accelerated Power Development Programme (APDP) - aimed at boosting power distribution - for the first time in Karnataka, he promised that Karnataka would implement the scheme in the right spirit.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Minister denies diversion of Central funds
Next     : Youth 'tortured to death' by employer, 2 others