Mumbai’s BEST seeking ways to purchase cheaper power

Mumbai’s electricity distributor BEST undertaking is seeking to slash its power purchase costs from an average of Rs 8-9 per unit to Rs 5-6 per unit, a reduction of up to 35%, to reduce the tariff burden on 10.5 lakh consumers in south and central Mumbai.

BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra said the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) recently issued an order allowing BEST to file a new power procurement plan for approval, which is likely to save huge costs.

He said BEST will be looking at hydropower and other renewable sources from outside Mumbai, while it will retain a certain amount of thermal power in its energy mix. “At present, we are purchasing power which is as high as Rs 10.50 per unit for thermal. With a mix of hydro, the overall average cost comes to Rs 8-9 per unit, but it is still expensive and can burden consumers with an increase in tariff in future,” Chandra said, adding that the undertaking is exploring options to reduce the power purchase costs significantly.

At present, BEST depends largely on Tata Power for its supply to the island city. Power experts said though BEST plans to procure power from outside Mumbai, it will not be easy to stop the present arrangement with Tata Power’s embedded generation within the city.

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