E-Paper
Haryana: Regulator seeks validation of farm sector power sales data
The DHBVN in a January 16 response said that while the normative loss considered was 16%, the actual line loss on agriculture feeders was between 8% to 9%. Power regulator cited discrepancies in the numbers of the highly subsidised electricity consumed by the farm sector in Haryana.
Citing discrepancies in the numbers of the highly subsidised electricity consumed by the farm sector in Haryana, the power regulator has asked one of the two state-owned power distribution companies (discom) to validate the sales and input energy statistics for the farm sector, also known as agricultural pump (AP) sector. The discom has been asked to submit a report on the running of tubewells on non-AP feeders within a month.
The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) in its February 15 order on retail power tariff for 2023-24 said that the actual AP consumption of 8,688 million units for 2021- 22 was lower than the AP consumption of 9,426.42 million units approved by the Commission in its March 30, 2021, tariff order. Accordingly, the total AP sales in respect of both the discoms is trued up as 8,688 million units for 2021-22. The regulator had also asked the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) to submit the reasons for aberrations in AP sales and fine tune the analysis.
The DHBVN in a January 16 response said that while the normative loss considered was 16%, the actual line loss on agriculture feeders was between 8% to 9%. It also said that quantum of AP billing for the consumers on feeder other than AP feeder was inadvertently shown two-three times less than actual billing quantum of such consumer. Due to the system constraint, the agriculture consumers are to be supplied power through other feeders under eventual circumstances, it said.
‘Authentication of losses can’t be done as 98% meters defective’
The Commission noted that the DHBVN’s response on the same aberration in AP sales for 2020-21 was based on the findings of M/s Pranat Engineering Pvt Ltd, Delhi, which was engaged for authentication of AP consumption of 11 selected AP feeders.
The firm submitted a report in which the transmission and distribution losses on selected AP feeders had been found to be 15.05% from Feb 2021 to May 2021. “Further, the third party submitted that exact authentication of transmission and distribution losses on selected feeders for 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years cannot be done as about 98% meters were defective or burnt,” the Commission said.
Citing the report, the regulator further said that for more than 50% connections billing was being done on flat rates, connections other than AP category were not included in billing of AP feeders and about 12 % consumers increased their load without intimation to the discom.
The Commission said that DHBVNs reply that the actual the line loss on agriculture feeders was between 8% to 9% is totally in contradiction with the earlier study conducted by discoms. “The DHBVN agriculture sales for 2021-22 as per audited account is 5,586 million units and 5,130 million units as per methodology of the HERC. However, in UHBVN’s case, the agriculture sales for 2021-22 as per audited account is 3,528 million units and 3,557 million units as per methodology of the HERC. There is a significant difference of 455 million units in DHBVN’s sales for 2021-22 which is unrealistic as sales cannot be more than energy fed, the regulator said.
Growth rate projections without any basis
The Commission also disapproved the 2023-24 growth rate projections for the AP sector stating that that 5% and 3.31% growth rate considered by the UHBVN and DHBVN, respectively, was without any basis. The Commission has analysed a two-to-five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for 2016-17 to 2021-22 period considering actual sales of these years. The Commission observes that the five-year CAGR is negative for both UHBVN and DHBVN and, therefore, considered the CAGR at the rate of 1% for projecting AP sales for 2023-24 based up the AP sale projection evolved for 2022-23. Thus, the HERC approved the AP sales of 8,884 million units for the two discoms, the order said.
