Mumbai: Adani Electricity, which supplies power to 30 lakh consumers in Mumbai, plans to foray into Thane, Navi Mumbai, Panvel and Uran to supply electricity. It has already made an application for discom licence for these supply areas before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC).
While the matter is yet to come up for hearing, sources in Adani Electricity said the power utility has drawn a roadmap to lay new distribution lines which could start from a few pockets in Thane and Navi Mumbai and will cover the entire zones within five years.
If everything works fine, the first set of Adani customers in Thane and Navi Mumbai could get power supply from 2023, sources added. At present, state-run MSEDCL is the sole power supplier in these areas.
Sources said Adani has already conducted a field study of Thane and Navi Mumbai and expects to increase their consumer base once the licence is granted by MERC. The process will involve MERC seeking suggestions and objections from various stakeholders, including consumers. A public hearing is also likely once MERC considers the application.
TOI had first written about Adani Electricity planning to seek licence for other areas in Mumbai metropolitan region. Sources said that now, the power discom wants to sell electricity in Thane and Navi Mumbai through a parallel licensee model. This exists in the city’s suburban areas where Tata Power and Adani Electricity both distribute power to lakhs of consumers — residential, commercial and industry.
A source from the energy department said this was ‘privatisation’ of power distribution, and soon there will be more players trying to get into the distribution areas of state-run MSEDCL.
Consumers, however, welcomed competition as some of them felt that this could improve the quality and reliability of power supply. “We will have a right to choose the power utility. For years, we have had no option but to take supply from MSEDCL whose tariffs have been the highest in the state. With competiti-on, we also expect the tariff to come down,” said Deepak Roy from Navi Mumbai.
Adani Electricity officials were not available for comment. Sources said that the application for the new licence is likely to be made public next week.
Source: PTI
