Govt taking steps to reduce cost of power generation: Shinde

New Delhi, Aug 25 (UNI) The Government has initiated a number of steps towards reducing the cost of power generation in the country, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today told the Lok Sabha.

''The cost of power generation is the cheapest in the hydel sector, while it is costliest in the case of the naptha-based one, so all efforts is being made to broadbase the power mix,'' he said in the House, during Question Hour.

Noting the National Electricity Policy lays the maximum emphasis on full utilisation of feasible hydro potential, he said that in the case of thermal power, the policy states that economics of generation and supply of electricity should be the basis for choice of fuel from among the options available. ''It would be economical for new generating stations to be located either near the fuel sources, that is pithead locations or load centres,'' he said.

Captive coal mining for thermal projects is being encouraged with a view inter alia to lowering the cost of fuel for coal fired stations, he said.

The Minister said the tariff policy provides that all future requirment of power should be procured competitively by distribution licensees except in cases of expansion of existing projects or where there is a State controlled/owned company as an identified developer. For public sector projects, tariff of all new generation and transmission projects should be decided on the basis of competitive bidding after a period of five years.

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