CEA Meeting Addresses AP’s Concerns & Keeps Telangana’s In Cold Storage

The Delhi meeting of the high power committee headed by CEA Chairman Neerja Mathur delivered the expected result. It made no headway and couldn’t set right AP’s defiance of allocations made in AP Reorg Act to the 2 states. Instead, it granted AP’s wish for additional power of 65 MW from Central Generating Stations. Telangana agreed to part with that power prior to the meeting itself.

AP was arguing about the disparity that cropped up in the allocation of power from the CGS to the 2 states and that based on usage of power for last 5 years, AP merits an additional allocation of 1.77 %. So AP’s share is increased from 46.11 per cent to 47.88 per cent while Telangana’s share decreased from 53.89 per cent to 52.12 per cent.

While AP got ahead with it’s argument, Telangana’s objections over AP canceling PPAs are put in cold storage by the committee by referring the status of PPAs to legal experts. Neither could the committee give clarity on allocations from renewable energy sources or the Sileru hydel power issue Telangana raised. In short, the committee followed Central Government’s approach of clearing way for AP’s concerns while sitting on those from Telangana. Another meeting is called on the 24th July and it won’t be any different, going by the approach taken by the committee. Meanwhile, AP continues to use almost all power it is generating and it has nothing to lose in attending as many meetings the committee keeps.

While not resolving the issue, every participant made the APERC the punching bag by criticizing it for not approving PPAs for 5 years. Incidentally, the APERC ‘forgot’ approving PPAs after the Dec 9, 2009 Telangana declaration!

The meeting in principle agreed for setting up Telangana ERC but that would be a long way away going by the complications APERC is in right now.