‘U P has done a remarkable job in rural electrification’

–        Ashok Kumar Khurana, Principal Secretary, Energy. Uttar Pradesh

U.P. is facing a huge power deficit. What is being done to bridge the gap?
It is very difficult to apportion blame for the deficit. However, one can safely say that successive governments in the past had neglected this important sector. Consequently, there is a huge backlog of investment in generation, transmission, and distribution. In 2003, seeing the gravity of the situation, the state government had announced a very liberal policy inviting investments in all segments of the power sector. The policy has yielded dividends. Government have enhanced budgetary allocation to power sector by more than 100 per cent.

How are you managing the current deficit position?
The current deficit is being tackled by improved management of  existing generation capacity. The average plant load factor (PLF) of State-owned generating stations was hovering around 56 per cent. It has now improved to 62 per cent. We have signed bilateral agreements to buy surplus power from states in the eastern region. We have also resorted to overdrawing at times whenever the frequency permits.

You have included in your projections the Reliance Project at Dadri. What are the chances of the project taking off?
The project is being set up by Reliance Energy Generation  Limited (REGL). The state government have signed an agreement with REGL to provide land and necessary infrastructural support. A major portion of land has already been handed over to the promoters. Construction work has begun at the project site. Regarding supply of gas, REGL has an agreement with Reliance Industries Limited (REL) which is, apparently, under the scrutiny of Union Ministry of Petroleum. We are hopeful that REGL will be able to sort out the gas issue.

There was controversy regarding land price. What are the facts of the case?
The land price issue has been settled through negotiation by the  company with farmers whose land has been acquired for the project. This issue is not a bottleneck in the setting up of the project.

–        AB