4 states

Gangtok, Mar 2 (UNI) The states of Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal and the Damador Valley Corporation(DVC) will receive their allocated share of power from the NHPC 510 MW Teesta Stage V at Balutar of East Sikkim.

The mega project is expected to be fully commissioned by March 31, this year. They would be getting at a provisional tariff of Rs 1.62 per unit.

Sikkim, the state where the NHPC project is being constructed, will receive 12 per cent of the total generated power free as per the agreement between the developers and the state government.

To top this, the host state would also get an extra 1.19 MW power at the provisional tariff as per its allocation based on Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) with the NHPC, informed V.K.Sharma, executive director, NHPC Teesta Stage V.

The project has already started operating on a commercial basis from February 29 with its first unit (170 MW) generating optimum power, said the executive director. We are working on the synchronization of the other two units (170 MW each) with the power grid and it will be completed by the end of this financial year, he said.

Mr Sharma said that the above mentioned four states and Damador Valley Corporation have been allocated their share of power as per PPA done before the works on the project commenced. Damador Valley Corporation will get 44 MW, Bihar will get 55 MW, Jharkhand will get 40 and West Bengal will get 122 MW, he said.

Orissa has been allocated 105 MW but this is subject to the Orissa government entering in a PPA with NHPC, the executive director said.

NHPC will be selling the remaining 77 MW power to places where there are requirements, Mr.Sharma added.

Although the provisional tariff of power is Rs.1.62 per unit, the transmission costs through National Power Grid of India Ltd. will be extra.

Sikkim government is already targeting huge revenue of Rs.145 crores per annum from its share of Teesta Stage V after deducting 10 percent in transmission and transformation losses. The government plans to sell surplus power at the rate of Rs 5.21 per unit towards sale of electricity outside the state.

NHPC is also on the process of submitting the DPR for the 495 MW Teesta Stage IV project proposed to be built at North Sikkim. The DRP is likely to be submitted by March, said Mr.Sharma.

The status report for the project mentions that NHPC is facing a strong resistance from a section of the indigenous tribal Lepcha people of Dzongu, North Sikkim where a major part of the Head Race Tunnel is planned.

Discounting the resistance, Mr.Sharma said that it will have no impact in the DPR submission.

UNI BG LL DB1853