By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr 19: Goa CM Pramod Sawant has given the go-ahead to purchase 120 MW power from the open market today.

Power Minister Sudin Dhavlikar had chaired a meeting on Monday to decide if Goa requires buying Power from the open market. This is to meet the demand for extra power during the summer months. Presently, the state is facing a shortage of 70-80 megawatt.

Goa gets 600 megawatts from the Central Grid and 80 megawatt from private companies. Stephen Fernandes, chief engineer, Goa Electricity Department, said “The shortfall is because of the increasing summer heat and the non availability of coal supply”.

The state requires 650 megawatts during peak times, which is a shortage of around 80 megawatts. Load shedding has to be implemented in the industrial areas of the state, which is up to 4 hours at a time. This affects production of goods.

The rate of power in the open market is Rs. 12 plus per unit. This rate was not feasible to the government as it had purchased power at the rate of Rs. 6/- per unit.

Sudin Dhavlikar had said, “After studying the demand of electricity to the state, a decision will be taken. Our aim is that industry gets enough power”. Every State in the country is undertaking load shedding, but categorically said Goa would not resort to load shedding, Sudin Dhavlikar asserted.

“In order to supply power to industries, the government will buy additional power in open market distribute it to all commercial and High Tension (HT) category industries situated across the State with additional cost between Rs 1.50 and Rs 2 per unit approximately, over the existing tariff,” he said.

The Power Minister asked assistant engineers to undertake pre-monsoon maintenance works and to ensure that all pending applications for power connections are cleared within a month and that the power bills are issued to consumers on a monthly basis.

Prior to the decision to purchase power from the open market Goa State Industries Association (GSIA) had said that currently the sudden load shedding is causing huge financial losses to the industry, which is still to recover from the COVID-19 aftermath as well as the rising costs of raw materials. 

Running generators, besides causing financial losses would also cause heavy environmental destruction, GSIA president Damodar Kochkar had said.  

Kochkar said that currently Goa is facing a power shortage of around 100 MW, compelling the Electricity Department to go in for daily load shedding with the industry bearing the brunt of it.

Industry associations had made an ardent appeal to the Power Minister to address the situation of huge line losses as well as power thefts which amount to around 20-25 per cent, which not only are a huge loss to the State exchequer, but also one of the main contributors to the industry now having to pay for this additional power costs in lieu.

Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) State Council chairman Mauniguirish Pai Raikar had said that it is not commercially feasible and viable for micro industries to run on generators as cost of the end product will shoot up and there will be no buyers for it. He said that the government has to facilitate the functioning of industries which are generating employment, revenue and paying the highest rates for power in the State. 

Raikar said that despite several warnings, the government had failed to curtail transmission and distribution (T&D) losses and failed to provide quality power due to non-replacement of conductors and other equipments. “It is the government’s bounden duty to supply power to industries generating employment, revenues and paying highest rates for power in the State”.

Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology (MAIT) president Nitin Kunkolienkar demanded that the government supply power to those industries which are contributing to Goa’s economy and providing employment to locals and close down certain type of industries, which are not contributing to Goa’s economy but using power at low tariff and causing destruction of environment. 

Cuncolim Industries Association president Abhay Keni said that the Power Minister had spoken about load shedding without calculating the losses that State exchequer would bear. He claimed that the industry was generating revenue for the State government in the form of GST and government would be the loser if it resorts to load shedding. 

Keni said that the government was receiving Rs 6 lakh per day from 90,000 kg of steel per day produced by six steel manufacturing industries in the Cuncolim industrial estate.