New Delhi, May 22 (IANS): Prices discovered for short-term power supply in summer through the recent first e-bidding process are significantly lower than the prices at which power was procured during the similar period last year, an official statement said on Sunday.
The process has resulted in substantial savings, said the power ministry statement.
"Power Secretary P.K.Pujari congratulated the states of Uttarakhand, Kerala, Bihar and Torrent Power for early adoption of the DEEP (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price) e-bidding and e-reverse auction portal," the statement said, adding that the prices discovered in all these cases were around Rs.3 per unit.
"For Kerala, the lowest prices for the month of May in slot of the day have been discovered at (Rs.) 3.14 per unit, while last year, short-term power in round the clock was procured at the rate of 4.70 per unit.
"For Uttarakhand, the lowest price for power for the month of July on round the clock basis was discovered at 2.59 per unit through reverse auction in e-bidding process using the bidding portal. Last year for July, the lowest price at which short term power was procured was 3.41 per unit," it said.
For Bihar, where the discoms did not bid for power in the last two years, the lowest rate for July, for the slot of day, has been discovered at Rs.3.08 per unit, the ministry said.
"In e-bidding process of Torrent Power Ltd., the lowest price for the month of May-June in slot of the day has been discovered at the rate of 2.95 per unit. There was no short term procurement in 2014-15 and 2015-16 by Torrent Power," it added.
Power trading firm PTC India became the sole successful bidder earlier this month in Kerala's tender for supplying 100 MW of supply during peak hours and 50 MW during day time in the ongoing month.
PTC also bagged the contract for more than half of the quantum offered by Uttarakhand Power Corp to supply 150 MW round the clock during July this year. It also will supply power to Uttarakhand during the peak hours in July and August.
Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal launched the DEEP portal here last month.