Faced with intense pressure from the Central government,the Himachal Pradesh government today fixed June 15,2010,as the deadline for unbundling of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB). The State Transmission Utility (STU) will be separated from the main functions of the erstwhile board generation,transmission and distribution. Giving this assurance at the power ministers conference in New Delhi,convened by Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde,Dhumal said: We are in the process of separating the functions of STU and the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) from the erstwhile HPSEB. By June 15,2010,we expect to complete the reorganisation as envisaged under the Electricity Act-2003. The employees unions of the HPSEB have been vehemently opposing the government move to trifurcate the board,which has delayed the decision on unbundling by over six years. At the conference,Dhumal,however,demanded Central assistance in putting in place a transmission system that enables evacuation of power from the projects located in the state. The Himachal government has formulated a master plan for transmission with an initial investment of over Rs 4,500 crore. This is aimed to transmit power to other parts of the country at reasonable costs. A special scheme of funding by the Centre can play a catalytic role, he stressed. The chief minister pointed out that power generation in the Himalayan region picks up in the summer while the internal demand is highest during winters. Thus,the Centre should lend its support to create new transmission assets to link it with inter-state systems, he said. Dhumal asked the Centre to enhance allocation of power from the present 145 MW to 400 MW from ultra-mega power projects. He pleaded that all hydro projects,irrespective of their commissioning dates,should provide one per cent free power share for local area development (LAD). Dhumal demanded 12 per cent free power from the Bhakra Beas Management Board under the National Hydro Policy. He hoped that 600-MW additional electricity would be added with the commissioning of Allain Duhangan,Malana-II,Budhil,Chamera-III and some mini and micro hydel projects during the current financial year.
