The government will soon come out with its own policy on climate change in tune with the national action plan to take advantage of the carbon credit facility under the Kyoto protocol.

This was state by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal while presiding over the inaugural HPPCL Power Development Lecture-2008 organised by the Power Corporation. He said the draft policy had already been circulated and was being discussed with stakeholders to give it a final shape. He said the government was encouraging independent power producers (IPPs).

He said the government had also decided to create a separate directorate of energy to coordinate actions on issues related to energy development, sale of power and monitoring the large number of projects coming up in the private sector. It would implement a master transmission plan for power evacuation for each river basin to ensure that the power project developers did not face any problem on that front.

He said the state had so far harnessed 6,370 MW hydropower, which was nearly one-third of the total potential. He said the process was on for adding 5,744 MW additional capacity by the end of the 11th plan and another 5,616 MW during the 12th plan. He said the government had devised strategies to involve all investors and the process would be completed in a transparent manner. Identified hydropower sites would be allocated to private-sector investors through competitive bidding. The government had also decided to invite offers on the basis of free power instead of upfront premium to augment financial resources of the state.

He said the upfront premium for allotment of projects had been fixed at Rs 20 lakh per MW and the bidders would have to offer free power over and above the mandatory 12, 18 and 30 per cent share to the state after 12, 18, 30 years of the setting up of the project, respectively.

Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority stressed on the need to harness hydropower expeditiously. He also spoke in favour “price variation contracts”.

Principal secretary (power) Ajay Mittal underlined the need to improve hydropower share of in total power generation that had sipped to 25 per cent as against the recommended 40 per cent. Managing director of the Power Corporation Tarun Kapoor said his organisation had set a target to have an installed generation capacity of 3,000 MW by 2017 and 5,000 MW by 2022. It would include 1,000 MW of thermal power, he added.