- The average tariff at which these power plants would supply to the state is ₹2.48 per unit, which is significantly lower than the tariff at which power distribution companies in the state are procuring power from other power generators.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday finalised the power purchase agreements with 10 solar power producers with a total installed capacity of 6,400 megawatts of power that would supply 14,000 million units of power to the state at the lowest-ever tariff of ₹2.48 per unit.
Out of these 10 solar power projects, four would be set up in Kadapa, three in Anantapur, two in Prakasam and one in Kurnool districts. The bidders who won the projects include big players like National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Adani group, an official statement from the chief minister’s office said in the evening.
The official note said the average tariff at which these power plants would supply to the state is ₹2.48 per unit, which is significantly lower than the tariff at which power distribution companies in the state are procuring power from other power generators.
“The state will now procure 14,000 million units of power every year at this tariff from these power plants whose total installed capacity would be 6,400 MW. This additional power purchase will help the state meet the demand for uninterrupted power supply requirements of farmers free of cost,” the official note said.
Every year, the state has to bear a burden of ₹10,000 crore on free power supply in the form of subsidy to Discoms. “The purchase of power at cheaper tariff from these solar power plants would reduce the subsidy burden to a large extent,” the note said.
The present tariff of Rs. 2.48 would result in a savings of nearly ₹3,800 crores in the very first year and this saving is likely to increase over the years as the tariff would remain the same.
“The present value of benefit accruing to the Andhra Pradesh Government exchequer over the life of this project can conservatively be estimated at ₹50,000 crore. Since these solar power projects are Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) projects, they would be transferred to the state government after 30 years,” the note said.
It reminded that during the previous Telugu Desam Party regime, power purchase agreements were signed with various solar power companies at exorbitant tariffs, ranging from ₹5.25 to ₹5.90 per unit. “The developers got unreasonably high returns on their investments and the State government and the Discoms had been subjected to a very huge financial burden,” the CMO note said.
Source: hindustantimes
