The concern is that while normal folks like Mungerilal can afford to live a life of dreams a government can’t? And that is exactly what it has been doing when it comes to calculating its power capacity to run the engine of Rs 25000 crores of investment in the next decade, based on its expectation of captive power for all high-end industries. The government hopes to attract investments providing companies seamless power connectivity, water and infrastructure.
The Supreme Court’s declaration that all coal block allocations are illegal and arbitrary has jolted the national sentiment and sent stocks of steel companies crashing. In Goa the fallout will be felt where it hurts the most- the supply of basic power it plans to get from the power manufacturer based on coal supplied from the Chattisgarh coal block. Goa is a state which is struggling for every MW of power to meet its growing needs. It has just about enough to keep the wheels of industry moving and homes and offices running. But what hasn’t been taken into account is that the entire mining sector is closed and therefore not consuming power. When mining starts, albeit on a smaller scale, the pressure will build.
The Chief Minister has one stop solution to all this. If coal allocation to KSK Mahanadi Power, Goa’s PPP partner in producing power, is stopped, the government will buy imported coal albeit at a higher price. But currently it is grappling with a serious situation where its key industries are without quality power after the contract the government has had with Reliance for the supply of 16 MW of gas-based power got over on August 14.
While it is learnt that some agreement is being worked on with Reliance for the use of its infrastructure by the private consumers to wheel power, Goa still doesn’t have the quality of power Reliance was supplying for high-end pharma and other units. It is a powerful shocker to learn that the Goa government is planning an industrial investment of over Rs 25,000 crores but doesn’t even have power infrastructure to wheel its own power, forcing high-end industry to find its own means.
With or without the Chattisgarh coal blocks, the government needs to do the following. a) Workout an alternative source of power to the tune of at least 300 MW’s b) Build a completely new infrastructure network to wheel power into industrial units c) Cut transmission losses and thefts d) Augment basic power infrastructure by ensuring 100 % underground cabling
Above all the Government needs to display transparency with industry and not make them second guess about their next source of high quality power. The uncertainty, the industry had to face over the stoppage of power from Reliance, after their agreement with the Goa government ended was nightmarish, with various pharma companies seriously looking at Plan B which includes even moving out of the state.
Power is indeed a big deal and while most of Goa doesn’t really realise it, the government is acutely aware of the absolute doldrums it will be in if they cannot supply enough to get industry moving or more alarming still, getting them to Goa in the first place.
If this doesn’t get sorted, industry will be moving to the departure lounge of the Goa International airport with no new arrivals expected. And that won’t be Mungerilal’s dream but a harsh reality.
