Discoms face losses due to poor market assessment by Haryana Power Purchase Centre

Time of India

27-04-2025

Chandigarh: Call it a lack of expertise or serious lapse on part of the
Haryana Power Purchase Centre
(HPPC), the
short-term power agreements
made by it at exorbitant rates have ended up shelving the stocks at throwaway rates under the exchange.
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According to information, during FY 2023-24, the HPPC contracted 7,740 million units of energy worth Rs 5,257.54 crore through short-term agreements from private buyers as augmentation for peak days.
Later, the HPPC indulged in trade, and after failing to understand the market trends and demand and supply assessments, exchanged the agreements with other players at much cheaper rates, resulting in escalation in the aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses to the power discoms.
All this came to light after the orders of the
Haryana Energy Regulatory Commission
(HERC), which highlighted the lapse while disposing of the aggregate revenue requirements (ARR) filed by the Haryana power utilities for FY 2025-26.
The regulatory body headed by Nand Lal Sharma cautioned the HPCC against such losses and asked it to put experts in place.
The HPPC arranges power through short and long-term agreements for consumption.
Haryana has an average consumption of 8,000 MW to 10,000 MW on average days, which goes up to 15,000 MW.
Since Haryana has less of its own generation, largely the power is arranged through its share in national hydel and thermal projects along with long-term agreements. The HPPC is the nodal agency mandated for this arrangement based on demand and supply assessments given by the electricity distribution companies.
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Sources said the lack of expertise in assessing market trends as well as non-availability expert staff to monitor the markets on a 24x7 basis caused HPPC losses.
Meanwhile, it was claimed that the state had surplus energy during the contentious period, which forced the agency to sell off or exchange electricity with other centres across the country at lower rates.
The said stocks were procured through special permission given by the govt of Haryana for the preparation of peak days.
All this happened when Ranjit Singh Chautala was the power minister, claimed the sources.
"Electricity cannot be stored. Secondly, the consumption of electricity, demand, and supply is dependent on weather conditions. In case of good rains, you may have less demand, while less rain can escalate the demand. But you have to have adequate arrangements as an agrarian state. It's not just Haryana, the situation is encountered by other power purchase centres as well," remarked a senior power discom official.
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