09-05-2012, 03:01 PM
REMOTE METER READING
[attachment=21685]
INTRODUCTION
APSEB was formed in the year 1959 and is responsible for all the three functions of the power sector, namely, generation, transmission and distribution of power. There are a number of rural electric cooperatives also functioning as supply licensees in the state. Besides generating power from its own power plants APSEB procures power from central sector generating stations, other states and joint venture power plants and more recently from the private sector since 1995. The entry of private sector into power generation was facilitated by the Central government under a liberalized policy announced in 1991.
On many technical aspects, APSEB enjoyed a good reputation amongst the other utilities in India – some of the features continue even now. For example, the Plant Load Factor (PLF) of State owned generating stations in AP was 83.2% in 2000, much higher than the national average of 67% or the NTPC figure of 80.4%. Though APSEB's performance on generation side was far better compared to other SEBs, performance on distribution and financial aspects proved to be very poor.
Despite the significant growth witnessed in power generation in Andhra Pradesh, the gap between demand and supply was increasing due to substantial increase in agricultural and domestic consumption in the state.
FORMATION
In accordance with the Electricity Supply Act (1948), the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board (APSEB) was created in April 1959 as a vertically integrated entity in charge of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the state. The different divisions under the state government of AP draw their own five year plans along with the central plans. The state plans are supported by tax revenues, central assistance and other resources managed by the state. In the period from 1960 to 1982, APSEB was the sole generator of electricity.1983 onwards the Central sector plants managed by NTPC also started contributing the generation in the state. Post 1990, the initiation of the reforms that allow private sector participation in generation, a number of Independent Power Producers(IPP) set up generating stations in the state which were mostly based on gas or naphtha. There was also a growth in capacity following the setting up of mini hydro and wind based plants by the private players.
IT’S BODIES-ORGANIZATIONS:
APSEB was also restructured into two independent corporations:
Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation Limited (APTRANSCO) and Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO).
The distribution function was later separated from APTransco and divested with four distribution companies as subsidiaries to APTRANCO.
APTransco is the Electricity Transmission Company of the Government of Andhra Pradesh state in India. It has ceased to do power trading and has retained with powers of controlling system operations of power transmission.
From Feb 1999 to June 2005 APTransco remained as single buyer in the state purchasing power from various generators and selling it to DISCOMs in accordance with the terms and conditions of the individual PPA’s at Bulk Supply Tariff (BST) rates. Subsequently, in accordance with the Third Transfer Scheme notified by GovAP, AP Transco has ceased to do power trading and has retained with powers of controlling system operations of power transmission.
APGENCO is the electricity generation company of the government of Andhra Pradesh state in India. It has an installed capacity of 8384.9MW(as on February 10,2011) which makes it the third largest power generation company in India. APGENCO is one of the pivotal organizations of AP, engaged in the business of power generation. Apart from operation and maintenance of the power plants it has undertaken the execution of the ongoing and new power projects scheduled under capacity addition programme and is taking up renovation and modernization works of
the old power stations. APGENCO came in to existence on 28.12.1998 and commenced operations from 01.02.1999. This was a sequel to government reforms in power sector to unbundle the activities relating to generation, transmission and distribution of power. All the generating stations owned by erstwhile APSEB was transferred to the control of APGENCO.
The installed capacity of APGENCO as on Sept 30, 2010 is 8135.9 MW comprising 4382.50 MW thermal, 3751.40 MW hydro and 2MW wind power stations, and contributes half the total energy requirement of Andhra Pradesh. APGENCO is the third largest power generating utility in the country next to NTPC and Maharashtra. Its installed hydro-capacity of 3703.4 MW is the second highest among the country.
POWER SECTOR REFORMS IN INDIA
The power sector in India faces a severe financial crisis and many state electricity boards are dangerously close to becoming bankrupt. For the past decade or so, there have been several efforts to reform the Indian power sector with an important option under consideration being ‘Privatization’ of the distribution process. One may note that the power sector can be classified into three functional sub-sectors, namely,
a) Generation
b) Transmission
c) Distribution
NEED FOR POWER SECTOR REFORMS
Despite the significant physical growth, APSEB was finding it increasingly difficult to meet the demand of the State for adequate and reliable supply of electricity. Losses incurred by APSEB are shown as one of the main reasons for restructuring the power sector in Andhra Pradesh. Fuel purchase, payments towards electricity purchased from other electricity boards and interest payments are important components of the costs incurred by the APSEB. One third of the Board’s income was going to meet interest payments - increasing burden of interest payments.
High transmission & distribution losses,
increasing inefficiency in metering & collection,
very low tariff to agricultural consumers and
high cost of power from private generators
are some of the factors that have contributed to the deterioration of financial health. One of the major impacts of this worsening financial situation was APSEB's inability to raise finances for the required investments in generation and T&D.
Power sector reforms in India were initiated at a juncture when the sector was plagued with commercial losses and burgeoning subsidy burden. Investment in the sector was not able to keep pace with growing demand for electricity.
Government initiated reform process due to following reasons:
1. The ever-widening gap between the demand and availability of electricity.
2. The poor technical and financial performance of the state electricity boards.
3. Inability of the centralized state governments to finance and mobilize resources for generation capacity expansion projects, making third party investment in power sector imperative.
The initial step in this direction has been the amendment of legislation governing the electric sector in 1991. The Indian Electricity Act, 1910 and the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 were amended to attract private investment in power generation.
This also provided for the setting up of Power Trading Corporation (PTC) to act as an intermediary between the private developers of mega projects and the SEBs.
This program has two components namely the investment component which covers strengthening and up gradation of sub-transmission and distribution and the incentive component which is a grant for states/utilities towards reduction of cash losses with 2000-01 as the base year. 8 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have been the recipient of such incentive totaling Rs.17233 millions.
-EVOLUTION OF REFORM PROCESS IN AP
Present power sector reforms are being taken up in the background of the liberalization process that started in 1991 at the national level (when Congress party was in power) as a precondition to the IMF/WB bail out of India from the balance of payments (BOP) problem.
It can be seen that the annual deficits of APTRANSCO have been rising during the last few years. The main reasons for this are explained below:
[attachment=21685]
INTRODUCTION
APSEB was formed in the year 1959 and is responsible for all the three functions of the power sector, namely, generation, transmission and distribution of power. There are a number of rural electric cooperatives also functioning as supply licensees in the state. Besides generating power from its own power plants APSEB procures power from central sector generating stations, other states and joint venture power plants and more recently from the private sector since 1995. The entry of private sector into power generation was facilitated by the Central government under a liberalized policy announced in 1991.
On many technical aspects, APSEB enjoyed a good reputation amongst the other utilities in India – some of the features continue even now. For example, the Plant Load Factor (PLF) of State owned generating stations in AP was 83.2% in 2000, much higher than the national average of 67% or the NTPC figure of 80.4%. Though APSEB's performance on generation side was far better compared to other SEBs, performance on distribution and financial aspects proved to be very poor.
Despite the significant growth witnessed in power generation in Andhra Pradesh, the gap between demand and supply was increasing due to substantial increase in agricultural and domestic consumption in the state.
FORMATION
In accordance with the Electricity Supply Act (1948), the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board (APSEB) was created in April 1959 as a vertically integrated entity in charge of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the state. The different divisions under the state government of AP draw their own five year plans along with the central plans. The state plans are supported by tax revenues, central assistance and other resources managed by the state. In the period from 1960 to 1982, APSEB was the sole generator of electricity.1983 onwards the Central sector plants managed by NTPC also started contributing the generation in the state. Post 1990, the initiation of the reforms that allow private sector participation in generation, a number of Independent Power Producers(IPP) set up generating stations in the state which were mostly based on gas or naphtha. There was also a growth in capacity following the setting up of mini hydro and wind based plants by the private players.
IT’S BODIES-ORGANIZATIONS:
APSEB was also restructured into two independent corporations:
Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation Limited (APTRANSCO) and Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO).
The distribution function was later separated from APTransco and divested with four distribution companies as subsidiaries to APTRANCO.
APTransco is the Electricity Transmission Company of the Government of Andhra Pradesh state in India. It has ceased to do power trading and has retained with powers of controlling system operations of power transmission.
From Feb 1999 to June 2005 APTransco remained as single buyer in the state purchasing power from various generators and selling it to DISCOMs in accordance with the terms and conditions of the individual PPA’s at Bulk Supply Tariff (BST) rates. Subsequently, in accordance with the Third Transfer Scheme notified by GovAP, AP Transco has ceased to do power trading and has retained with powers of controlling system operations of power transmission.
APGENCO is the electricity generation company of the government of Andhra Pradesh state in India. It has an installed capacity of 8384.9MW(as on February 10,2011) which makes it the third largest power generation company in India. APGENCO is one of the pivotal organizations of AP, engaged in the business of power generation. Apart from operation and maintenance of the power plants it has undertaken the execution of the ongoing and new power projects scheduled under capacity addition programme and is taking up renovation and modernization works of
the old power stations. APGENCO came in to existence on 28.12.1998 and commenced operations from 01.02.1999. This was a sequel to government reforms in power sector to unbundle the activities relating to generation, transmission and distribution of power. All the generating stations owned by erstwhile APSEB was transferred to the control of APGENCO.
The installed capacity of APGENCO as on Sept 30, 2010 is 8135.9 MW comprising 4382.50 MW thermal, 3751.40 MW hydro and 2MW wind power stations, and contributes half the total energy requirement of Andhra Pradesh. APGENCO is the third largest power generating utility in the country next to NTPC and Maharashtra. Its installed hydro-capacity of 3703.4 MW is the second highest among the country.
POWER SECTOR REFORMS IN INDIA
The power sector in India faces a severe financial crisis and many state electricity boards are dangerously close to becoming bankrupt. For the past decade or so, there have been several efforts to reform the Indian power sector with an important option under consideration being ‘Privatization’ of the distribution process. One may note that the power sector can be classified into three functional sub-sectors, namely,
a) Generation
b) Transmission
c) Distribution
NEED FOR POWER SECTOR REFORMS
Despite the significant physical growth, APSEB was finding it increasingly difficult to meet the demand of the State for adequate and reliable supply of electricity. Losses incurred by APSEB are shown as one of the main reasons for restructuring the power sector in Andhra Pradesh. Fuel purchase, payments towards electricity purchased from other electricity boards and interest payments are important components of the costs incurred by the APSEB. One third of the Board’s income was going to meet interest payments - increasing burden of interest payments.
High transmission & distribution losses,
increasing inefficiency in metering & collection,
very low tariff to agricultural consumers and
high cost of power from private generators
are some of the factors that have contributed to the deterioration of financial health. One of the major impacts of this worsening financial situation was APSEB's inability to raise finances for the required investments in generation and T&D.
Power sector reforms in India were initiated at a juncture when the sector was plagued with commercial losses and burgeoning subsidy burden. Investment in the sector was not able to keep pace with growing demand for electricity.
Government initiated reform process due to following reasons:
1. The ever-widening gap between the demand and availability of electricity.
2. The poor technical and financial performance of the state electricity boards.
3. Inability of the centralized state governments to finance and mobilize resources for generation capacity expansion projects, making third party investment in power sector imperative.
The initial step in this direction has been the amendment of legislation governing the electric sector in 1991. The Indian Electricity Act, 1910 and the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 were amended to attract private investment in power generation.
This also provided for the setting up of Power Trading Corporation (PTC) to act as an intermediary between the private developers of mega projects and the SEBs.
This program has two components namely the investment component which covers strengthening and up gradation of sub-transmission and distribution and the incentive component which is a grant for states/utilities towards reduction of cash losses with 2000-01 as the base year. 8 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have been the recipient of such incentive totaling Rs.17233 millions.
-EVOLUTION OF REFORM PROCESS IN AP
Present power sector reforms are being taken up in the background of the liberalization process that started in 1991 at the national level (when Congress party was in power) as a precondition to the IMF/WB bail out of India from the balance of payments (BOP) problem.
It can be seen that the annual deficits of APTRANSCO have been rising during the last few years. The main reasons for this are explained below: