India to have hydel power policy

NEW DELHI, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- India has said it will soon have a new hydroelectric power policy to lure private investment.

"The (federal) Cabinet will soon take up the new hydroelectric power policy and it would make it more attractive for private players to enter the sector," said Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

India has a total hydel power potential of 150,000 MW of which only about 25 percent has been harnessed so far. The largest potential is in the hilly provinces, namely, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Earlier, Shinde handed over the letters of intent for awarding the first two 4,000 MW Ultra Mega Power Projects to the successful bidders on the basis of lowest quoted tariff. While Lanco Infratech, with Globeleq Singapore Pte. Ltd. as its lead partner, was awarded the Sasan project in Madhya Pradesh, Tata Power bagged the Mundra project in Gujarat.

The minister pointed out that the setting up of the UMPPs would herald a new dawn for the power sector. "The two projects of 4,000 MW each using environment-friendly technology would mean a huge capacity addition," he said.

The federal government envisaged a capacity addition of 100,000 MW to meet its mission of power for all by 2012. As achieving this target would require the development of large capacity projects at the national level, the Power Ministry along with the Central Electricity Authority and the Power Finance Corp. were working jointly for the development of nine such 4,000 MW UMPPs on the basis of tariff-based competitive bidding.