Hyderabad: The Centre has decided to check the indiscriminate purchase of electricity from private plants by power utilities across the country. The Union power ministry has directed all power utilities to follow the merit order dispatch system.
Under merit order, discoms have to purchase power from units which sell at electricity at the lowest rate.
Some states are purchasing expensive power from private plants when it is available at lower rates elsewhere. Due to this, discoms are running up huge bills and are facing financial problems.
The cost of power has come down after the advent of non-conventional energy like wind power bio mass, bio gas and solar power. Compared to thermal and gas-based power units, the cost of non-conventional energy is low.
The Centre had previously issued directions to follow the merit order, but some states continued to flout it. The Union power ministry has now directed all power utilities to monthly reports on merit order dispatch.
This is also being opposed by some state governments, which say that the cost of power from non-conventional sources changes frequently; purchasing electricity on merit order is not possible due to this.
Following this, the Union power ministry has decided to develop a software to keep track of power costs, which will enable power utilities to stick to the merit order. Also, the Union power ministry sought daily reports on merit order dispatches.
