In a bid to meet the high demand during the summer months, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL) has signed short-term bilateral agreements with several power producers, including Tata Power, PTC, NTPC Vidyut Vitaran Nigam, JSW and Maharashtra State Electricity Board, for the month of July. Giving details of the agreements, a senior official of the power corporation said approximately 1,500 MW power would be purchased in July through DEEP (discovery of efficient electricity price) e-bidding portal as well as from short-term bilateral purchases through open tenders. “The purchases would be made in two time slots of 19.00-24.00 hours in the evening and from 00 hours till 5.00 am in the morning and the cost of all these power purchases would be below Rs 4 a unit,” the official said.
The DEEP portal, launched last year by Union minister of state for power, coal, new & renewable energy and mines Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, provides a common e-bidding platform with e-reverse auction facility to facilitate nationwide power procurement through a wider network in order to bring uniformity and transparency in the process of power procurement.
As of now, UPPCL has made arrangements to buy additional power for the month of July only, while plans are being firmed up to buy a similar quantum of power for the months of August and September too, in order to tide over the shortfall of approximately 1500 MW-1800 MW power between demand and supply.
Uttar Pradesh’s average demand during peak hours goes up to 20,000 MW, while its available supply is around 1700-1800 MW. In order to fill the gap, the state often turns to bilateral power purchases as well as spot power from the exchange.
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/uppcl-signs-agreements-to-buy-1500-mw-power-for-summer/752986/
