Himachal may pick up stakes in hydro projects

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Shimla, Jan 2: The Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday said hydro power projects of over 100 mw capacity will be allotted through international competitive bidding, and the state would have the right of taking up to 49% equity in such projects.

In projects of up to 5 mw, local investors would be given preference, chief minister Virbhadra Singh said while releasing the state’s power policy here.

Projects above 5 mw and up to 100 mw capacity would be allotted to independent power producers (IPPs) through MoUs. The government is planning to create an authority that would supervise hydro project safety, quality control and management of water flow and discharge, he said. Singh said the state would receive investments to the tune of Rs 80,000 crore from CPSUs, joint ventures and independent power producers.

To facilitate this the government had recently created a separate body, the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL), which would start functioning soon.

Singh said rehabilitation and relief packages have also been incorporated into the policy. Around 1.5% of the project cost would be earmarked for local area development and 70% employment would be offered to Himachalis.

The state government would be charging an upfront premium of Rs 10 lakh per mw projects above 100 mw from developers, he said, adding it would also realise royalty, ranging between 12% and 30%, and the project would revert back to the state after 40 years.