The Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam limited (JUVNl) is taking strides before a take-off since the unbundling. But it has major challenges like earlier. Making the four companies independent in real terms, continue with reforms, meet the growing energy need and pressure from central entities e.g. DVC, NTPC are the few.
Seasoned hydro-man SN Verma has seen transformation from ageing JSEB to newborn JUVNl. He has several plans as CMD of the holding company apart from courage to take on the bull by its horn.
He shares some of those with The Pioneer. How has been progress since unbundling done in January this yearIJ
We have seen dues recovery going down in after a good show when you joined. We have done the unbundling on January 6 and we were the last in doing so. It is a delayed step but it has been done. Health of the companies need time to stand up on their own feet. In the country it has taken 2 years or more to make boards fully unbundled and truly independent.
Before that we have to clear all the dues belonging to TVNl, DVC, NTPC. We are working on that. The total dues are around Rs6000 crore. Rs5700 crore has already been sanctioned by the Central Government as per the restructuring plan and of which Rs700 crore is to come as grant. These are to come and we are confident of meeting all the outstanding dues.
As far as recovery is concerned, it is the main purpose behind unbundling. The motto is to come out of those dues make financial health sound. When I joined, we started form Rs147 crore a month went up to Rs235 crore. It is indeed a matter of sorrow that when the companies are unbundled the distribution companies are not functioning as per the expectations. The collection has gone down to Rs196 crore. It is a loss of around Rs35 crore a month which has accumulated again over to Rs100 crore. I have already told the distribution company’s MD to take note of it. Quite often than not, PTPS and TVNl get shut down.
Do you have any permanent solution for thatIJ
Patratu plant is over 40 year old and has lived its life. We are renovating its units. The Russian units frequently catch troubles. The plant has become viable also as the cost from Rs10 a unit has come down to Rs3.50. It is less than NTPC cost. We are running it because the State needs its power. When the new plant would come up the old units would be scrapped.
We are going for three new power projects and all are super critical thermal power plants because we have three coal blocks. One at Patratu with Banhardi, second at Patratu of 800X2 and the third is Bhawnathpur for which we have taken land from the SAIl and coal from Maurya block. We have land, water and coal blocks which are to be reallocated again. I believe in four years from now three power plants are in offing in Jharkhand. We also have 10 IPPs in the State and those will bring in 10,000 MW to Jharkhand. Then we will be able to trade power to the other States.
Apart from generation, transmission and distribution have been a major hurdle in Jharkhand. What are the steps in that directionIJ
We have started Rs1500 crore project for power grid across the State and creating 10 new grids which are half made and will be ready by June-July 2015. This will create a jacket all along Jharkhand. Problem with power is that we are not able to transmit it to deficit areas.
Also on the distribution front, we are building underground cabling for as many as 30 towns which are on GPS, online billing and payment system and state of the art central data center. In the coming one year scenario of power in Jharkhand will definitely change.
State Government and DVC often are no on the same page. Why this duel is always thereIJ
People have not been able to understand the problem related to DVC and idea to be dealt with it. It was built to meet irrigation and power demands of earlier Bihar and West Bengal. The power has to be distributed equally with the two and the Center. But it has lost its purpose. Jharkhand is not getting what it should get from it. 90 per cent generation of DVC is in Jharkhand that is Maithan, Bokaro, Chandrapura, Tilaiya, Koderma.
They are using our land, water, coal, people and also we have to bear the brunt of environmental impacts. But West Bengal is getting 100 per cent power for their need and Jharkhand is starved. They have six districts as command area and always there is load shading and other issues. They are troubling us.
I have taken eye to eye with them. I have told the DVC Chairman that this is not fair. They always accuse that we don’t pay. We are ready to pay with Center’s assistance. For the last six months we are paying the current bill fully. But still they doing load shading in their command area and selling those power to MP, Delhi in the lieu of better tariff but not meeting their responsibilities towards Jharkhand.
Besides, tariff is a mix of higher side and lower side. It means lT tariff or domestic and HT tariff or industries. HT is over Rs5 a unit whereas lT is Rs2.95. What they doIJ They are selling power to us more at than Rs4.10 per unit and we are supplying the same power to domestic consumers in DVC’s command area itself at Rs2.95! So we are bearing a loss of Rs35 crore every month due to DVC. Whereas they selling directly to industries and earning Rs 5. JSERC has also given direction and also the GOI that where they are supplying HT they will have to supply lT as well. Then only the complete tariff can be decided. The disparity is happening for long. I am trying to take DVC head-on.