Rs 410 crore aid from KFW to brighten villages

New Delhi, Aug 8 (UNI) The German financial lending agency KWF has provided a Rs 410 crore (70 million euros) fund aimed at avoiding transmission and distribution losses in India's villages.

The estimated saving in losses will be about 80 MU with an overall annual financial benefit of Rs 115 crore on investment of Rs 410 crore.

An MoU has been signed between Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and German Donor Agency KFW to boost the Energy Efficiency Programme.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and the German Ambassador to India Bernd Mutzelburg were present on the occasion.

The Chairman and MD of Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Anil Kumar Lakhina and Director KFW,Christian Haas signed the agreement in New Delhi which provides a German Bank assistance of 70 million Euro (Rs 410 crore) under the Indo-German Bilateral Development Corporation.

The financial assistance is for conversion of Low Voltage Distribution System to High Voltage Distribution System (HVDS).

Initially assistance is being provided for the districts of Kadappa and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh which will be expanded to cover HVDS programme in other states also.

The programme aims at reduction in Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses and providing reliable and quality power supply to the agricultural consumers. On implementation, the project shall also help in arresting theft of energy, minimising failure of distribution transformers, energy conservation due to high end use efficiency and improved voltage profile for the consumers.

The HDVS project can help in reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions providing an opportunity to the project promoters the benefit of additional revenues through sale of Carbon Emission Reductions (CERs) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The German Donor Agency has also agreed to provide assistance for various capacity building measures including CDM.

In view of the large tangible and intangible benefits of the HVDS programme, some of the states like Punjab, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have undertaken ambitious programme of HVDS.

UNI/RT SBA VC1945