After a wait of around one year, Nagpur and Amravati will finally become power-cut free from Sunday. The ZLS surcharge for the city is 51
paise per unit while it is 69 paise per unit for Amravati. The city got its first assurance of ZLS on December 26 last year when former minister of state Sunil Deshmukh made an announcement in the state assembly.
Since then it has been a long wait for Nagpurians with the cup not reaching the lip many times. The wait ended with MERC issuing an order on November 30 directing MSEDCL to implement the scheme in six cities, including Nagpur and Amravati, from December 1. MSEDCL decided in a meeting on December 1 to float tenders to power purchase.
Tenders will be opened on December 7. The company said that ZLS would be implemented only from around December 20. However, RB Goenka of VIA, wrote a letter to MERC and MSEDCL managing director Ajoy Mehta that while MERC had asked MSEDCL to tie-up for power for one year, till that was achieved MSEDCL could buy power from exchanges. He urged MSEDCL not to delay the process. BJP MLA Devendra Fadnavis also asked MSEDCL top bosses to implement ZLS as soon as possible. Mehta on Saturday took a decision to buy power for Nagpur and Amravati from Indian Electricity Exchange and Power Exchange of India Limited on day ahead basis and make the cities power cut free from December 6.
Sources said MSEDCL is getting power from the exchanges in the range of Rs 3.20-3.40 per unit. City superintending engineer MS Kele said that MSEDCL would buy 86 MW for Nagpur and 17 MW for Amravati. Welcoming the decision Goenka said as power rates at present are low, consumers would benefit. “The average billing rate (ABR) for Nagpur had been considered as Rs 4.80 per unit. As MERC has approved Dabhol’s surcharge of 35 paise per unit, ABR has increased it to Rs 5.15 per unit. On the other hand the average rate of power in the exchanges between 6 am and 6 pm will be around Rs 3 per unit. Thus the surcharge will be negative,” said Goenka.