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The railways, which depends on state-owned power companies for traction power, is now looking towards private power at cheaper prices.

The railways are purchasing private power in Gujarat and Maharashtra at Rs  4.70 per unit and open access processing is in progress in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha states. The process for open access will commence in AP and TS too very soon.

“We are in touch with three or four private companies for supply of power to railways in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states,” SC Railway chief electrical distribution engineer RK Sharma told Express on Thursday. The decision to go in for private power was that the Discoms were increasing the power tariff every year for railways.

In the latest Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR), the Telangana Discoms proposed a traction tariff of Rs  7.48 per unit which is an increase of 10 per cent in tariff over the last year. Due to increase in tariff, the additional burden on the railways to the tune of Rs  41 crore per year.

In all, the railways is paying Rs  400 crore to the Discoms, which is 20 percent of the HT service income of the Discoms.

The SCR is availing power through 15 traction sub-stations in TS and railways is one of the bulk consumers in public service in TS.

The total projected consumption of railway traction power is 590 million units for 2015-16.

In the 2016-17 ARRs, the Discoms proposed Rs  7.30 per unit for metro rail and Rs  7.48 per unit for the railways.

“Railways are also running MMTS trains and is contributing to reduction of vehicular traffic and pollution during peak hours,” Sharma informed the TS Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) at a public hearing here on Thursday.

Sharma objected to the proposed cross subsidy surcharge for railway traction as Rs  1.49 by TSSPDCL and Rs  1.50 by TSNPDCL.

Sharma said electrification works is in progress in TS for 474 km. “The higher traction tariff slashes the rate of return for the new electrification projects,” he explained and added that the increasing traction tariff was delaying  electrification projects.

“Railways deserve special consideration and increase in traction tariff is to be avoided. In fact, preferential tariff should be offered to promote electrification projects as in Madhya Pradesh,” he added.

NO HIKE IN AP: When the Andhra Pradesh Discoms proposed a tariff hike recently, the APERC fixed the traction power tariff at Rs  6.68.

The APERC, in its tariff order for 2016-17, mentioned: “As the railways is exclusively serving the public cause, the commission has considered it to be just, reasonable and necessary to maintain the railway traction tariff at the existing level without any increase in the fond hope that the resources so saved by the railways will be spent on expansion of the railway services in AP.”

Source: newindianexpress