The Hindu Business Line : Railways on the lookout for cheaper power

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New Delhi Jan. 26 In the backdrop of high electricity charges levied by various State electricity boards (SEBs) on the Indian Railways, the single largest and one of the highest paying electricity consumers is trying to get around the SEBs.

The Railways is in dialogue with NTPC Ltd and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) to establish a tie-up for power supply at a lower per unit cost than the present levels for the entire rail network.

Currently, different zonal railways pay different charges to various SEBs and companies, with per unit price ranging from Rs 2.94 to Rs 5.04.

The Railways shells out an average of Rs 4.22 per unit for traction and Rs 4.12 per unit for non-traction use. On an annual basis, it consumes 13 billion units, out of which 10.4 billion are for traction.

While NTPC provides electricity to SEBs at an average of Rs 1.47 per unit, it charges Rs 2.94 per unit from the Railways, said officials. "We are pursuing the matter with NTPC and PGCIL. High charges push up Railways' unit cost of transportation and affect the tariff structures," said Mr Ramesh Chandra, Member Electrical, Indian Railways. The Railways needs 2,200 MW capacity, while NTPC has 26,194 MW.

However, the Railways may face stiff resistance in this move. Its earlier attempts to bypass the SEBs have proven tough. A plan to set up captive power plant in Nabinagar with NTPC, a project announced in 2003, is yet to fructify. It now hopes to get a Cabinet nod for the project after lowering its equity to 26 per cent from the 51 per cent proposed earlier.