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Improving economic infrastructure in Bangaru Telangana
Highlights
Infrastructure is the basic physical and organizational structure needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for economic growth in setting up an enabling platform for sustainable economic development. Economic infrastructure, particularly, lays emphasis on energy, irrigation, roads, transport, airports etc.
Infrastructure is the basic physical and organizational structure needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for economic growth in setting up an enabling platform for sustainable economic development. Economic infrastructure, particularly, lays emphasis on energy, irrigation, roads, transport, airports etc.
A fast growing economy warrants an even faster development of infrastructure. Besides Government efforts, defining the role of private sector plays a vital role in the provision of infrastructure through Public Private Partnerships and exclusive role of private sectors in certain areas such as transport, communications, entertainment etc., accelerates the pace of infrastructure growth.
Energy
Telangana is the one of the top IT exporting states of India and about one third of the bulk drugs in the country are manufactured in the state. Besides these, the economy of Telangana is also dependent upon ag¬riculture. Thereby Telangana is amongst the highest power intensive states in India, with a per capita power consumption of over 985 units as against an all India average of 917 units (as on FY 2012-13). Going for¬ward, energy requirement is expected to see exponential growth owing to various factors such as buoyant growth in capital city and other urban centers, high domestic and agricultural consumption and upcoming major projects such as Hyderabad Metro Rail and Hyderabad-Nagpur industrial corridor.
Telangana plans to meet the demand by a number of capacity additions in pipeline and enhancing the energy availability from the existing sources. The gaps and challenges across the power value chain of Fuel – Gen¬eration-Transmission –Distribution must be addressed to meet the energy requirement.
Present Scenario
The current energy availability (FY 14-15) for Telangana from various sources is 45795MU. Telangana has been allocated 53.89% of TSGENCO and APGENCO stations. Post expiry of PPAs, no capacity would be available from APGENCO stations while 100% capacity of TSGENCO plants would be available.
Planned Power Generation from different Sources
The demand supply projections for the next five years are as detailed in Table. The energy requirement takes into account, assured 7 hours of power supply to agriculture customers and 6% increase in agriculture sales every year and ensuring 24x7 power supply to all other customers. The urban development in the cap¬ital city of Hyderabad and planned urbanization in other centres of Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal along with the upcoming major projects such as Hyderabad Metro Rail, Hyderabad Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) and Hyderabad-Nagpur industrial corridor, lift irrigation schemes adds to the additional energy requirement.
The transmission losses were 3.59% and transmission system availability was 99.94% in FY 13-14. However, there is a need to ensure augmentation and strengthening of transmission infrastructure at intra-state and inter-state level, failing which power supply cannot be improved. There are two distribution companies namely -TSSPDCL and TSNPDCL that supply electricity to consumers in Telangana. The distribution companies cater to 1.12 crores customers. The split of customers is as shown below.
The transmission and distribution losses and employees per sales are less in Telangana DISCOMS while compared with select states- Tamilnadu, Gujarat and Maharastra.
Key Challenges
Demand supply Gap: Telangana has inherited a power deficit was approximately 5%. During FY 2013-14, energy requirement was 47,428 MU of which only 44, 946 MU could be met from various sources. With the state’s growth plans in the forthcoming years, there is enormous energy requirement to fuel the development initiatives.
Integrating Non-Conventional Energy: Telangana is keen on increasing the power generation from Non-con¬ventional Energy. As Telangana is a landlocked state, the potential to exploit wind energy is limited. The state is looking forward for avenues to improve the energy mix and is looking forward to integrate solar power and other non-conventional energy.
Transmission corridor augmentation: Transmission corridor augmentation to ensure evacuation from up¬coming generation centers should be monitored proactively to ensure that transmission corridor leads gen¬eration availability.
DISCOM challenges:
The key challenges being reducing technical and commercial loss in distribution of power, minimizing interruptions and breakdowns in network infrastructure and meeting customer expecta¬tions on new connection release and complaint resolution. TSDISCOMS are facing severe financial crunch due to longer cash conversion cycle resulting from metering exceptions, low collection and billing efficiencies, unpaid dues from Government departments and dependence on agricultural subsidy. There is a need for agriculture feeder segregation so that the agriculture connections consumption can be captured.
Measures aimed at Capacity Additions.
TSGENCO has planned significant capacity additions of 4240 MW (cumulative) over the next five years. Capacity additions of TSGENCO may not alone be sufficient to address energy deficit, and hence power procurement from other sources is necessary to augment energy availability.
Some of the avenues for improving power supply position include CGS sources of Kudigi, Tuticorin, Neyveli, Kalpakkam, and Srikali are expected to contribute to over 7000 MU of power in the next fi ve years and Upcoming APGENCO plants and private plants such as Thermal Powertech will contribute to over 10,000 MU.
TSDISCOMS have initiated competitive bidding for procurement of 2000 MW of power on long-term basis. There is addition al spare capacity of about 6000 MW with SR generators which can be booked without transmission constraints. To improve the energy mix, the TSDISCOMS have already concluded bid process and have contracted 505 MW of solar power. Plans to purchase another 500 MW are underway.
To augment and strengthen the transmission network, the TSTRANSCO line from Suryapet to Nandivanaparthy and Shankarpally (825 MW/Ckt) is in progress. Moreover for 765 KV-Wardha-Nizamabad-Maheshwaram, downstream strengthening by establishing 400 kV SS and associated line at Maheshwaram is being taken up. And network strengthening is proposed at Warangal and Hyderabad for the 765kV-Warora¬Warangal-Hyd-Kurnool. Strengthening of Kalapaka to Khammam line is proposed for onward transmission from Vemagiri
Telengana plans to setup mega solar parks and generate about 5000 MW of solar power in the state.
Way Forward
The TS power utilities have identified an array of interventions across the Generation-Transmission-Distribution value chain for ensuring power sufficiency to all consumers in the state. Some of the key interventions identified are as follows.
Generation
TSGENCO has huge capacity additions over the next few years and hence imperative for TSGENCO to expedite the process of completing feasibility studies, land acquisition and getting all necessary approvals. Revival of Shankarpally gas power plant is being considered subject to availability of gas from D6 basin. DPR has been prepared and GoI has been requested for allocation of 4.62 mmscmd natural gas for this project. The action points include undertaking efficiency improvement measures such as coal auditing, three levels – loading, transportation and unloading at TSGENCO plants through a third party (SERC has initiated the process to identify consultants/auditors to carry out this exercise), improving blending infrastructure to improve GCV of coal at power plants., Implement an IT enabled coal tracking mechanism to monitor coal stock availability, coal shortfall, coal linkage materialization.
For ensuring a more sustainable fuel mix, the Non-Conventional Energy (NCE) installed capacity would be increased by adapting the key measures of setting up of single window clearance mechanism, allowing unrestricted banking during ToD hours, providing cross subsidy surcharge exemption, providing policy support for solar roof tops and net metering, promoting Decentralized Distributed generation model for solar power generation and preparing an exclusive dedicated solar policy. The DISCOMs would focus on 4 major action points- Loss, reduction, reliability improvement, improve.
Transmission
TSTRANSCO would ensure required transmission infrastructure for evacuation of Power from CGS and Power Plants. The key action points are augmenting the existing 400 kV lines and erect new 400 KV / 765 KV network to meet the projected energy requirement and identifying Transmission lines / projects to be constructed through Tariff based competitive bidding and Viability Gap Funding (VGF) based on grant by GoI and also identifying lines with high losses and thereby undertake system augmentation works.
Distribution
Renewable penetration and improve customer satisfaction. The Loss reduction would have commercial action plan and Technical action plan. The commercial action plan would focus on intensive inspection and reduction of MBC exceptions through support of data analytics to improve metering, billing and collection efficiency. The technical action plan would include implementation of agricultural feeder segregation at an estimated investment of INR 1458 cr., Phased implementation of HVDS to cover 19.1 lakh agricultural consumers at an estimated investment of INR 43,780/ pump-set and improved metering of DTRs and feeders and phasing out of old mechanical meters at consumer end.
The reliability improvement will comprise of providing adequate redundancy schemes for critical, commercial, security and essential services establishments, SCADA implementation at 11 kV feeder level and at all district headquarters at an estimated investment of INR 300 Cr and smart meter installation for existing 16 lakh three phase connections at an estimated investment of INR 1100 Cr. It will include monitoring the agriculture supply as per government policy, by effective metering and data collection.
The renewable penetration would be improved by implementation of net metering for solar roof-top power plants and by solar pump sets installation in viable areas with above average water table. The discoms would focus on customer satisfaction by setting up consumer care centers in each district with mapping of all consumers in the district.
Solar Energy Programme
The estimated solar power potential in Telangana State is 20.41 G.W. Government is keen to promote renewable energy power in the State particularly solar power plants at selected locations. Government is also planning to bring comprehensive solar policy for promotion of solar energy in the State.
Government is encouraging solar roof top net metering systems in the State to reduce the pressure on grid supply with subsidy by GOI. It was decided to extend 30% subsidy in the Domestic sector for 1 KW of grid system for 4,200 numbers, in addition to the GoI subsidy. To support agricultural farmers, the Government initiated to provide fi nancial assistance to take up solar sets at large scale in order to provide uninterrupted power supply. As on 28-01-2015 Renewable Energy power projects in the State commissioned are 396.775 MW.
By:G.Rajendra Kumar
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