State-run power utility Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), which operates in West Bengal and Jharkhand, needs a uniform tariff for its consumers in the two different States, its Chairman S Suresh Kumar said on Wednesday.
The command area of Kolkata-headquartered DVC, jointly owned by West Bengal, Jharkhand and the Centre, is spread over the two States. The power utility’s main functions are generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in its command area.
However, respective electricity regulatory commissions of the two states currently decide upon their end-consumer power tariffs.
During an event, organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, Kumar said the difference in tariffs has been causing issues among consumers in the two states.
Due to the tariff difference, there is also a significant amount of litigation happening. “What we need is one tariff order for the entire DVC area,” the Chairman said.
This issue is currently under discussion at the Union Power Ministry level.
DVC hoped that the proposed 1,000 MW pump storage project at Jharkhand’s Panchet for which it has already entered into an MoU with the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company would make considerable progress after the Lok Sabha elections.
“After the MoU, much progress has been made. We will have to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for it. For this the West Bengal government’s approval is needed. It is expected to be done after the elections,” Kumar added. The capex for the project is expected to be around ₹7,000 crore.