Beginning from scratch in the post-independence period, the power sector of India has indeed evolved to be one of the most diversified energy sectors of the world. Its compliance with the gradual advancement in technologies and adopting effective and advantageous measures has brought it to this stature.
In a recent development, the Power Sector of India under the dynamic leadership of Shri. Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State for Power, Coal, and Non-Renewable Energy, gave a nod for the execution of the tariff based reverse auction process for the transmission sector on August 17th, 2016. He simultaneously launched several online portals for electronic bidding of transmission projects.
The online internet portals named e-trans and DEEP (Discovery of Efficient Energy Price) have been developed by the Rural Electrification Corporation Transmission Projects Company Limited (RECTPCL), a subsidiary of REC Ltd. Their launch confirms the transition of the manual auction process to an electronic mode for determining lowest bids on projects and also aims at enhancing transparency, fair play, and uniformity in the power transmission sector, by initiating a nationwide procurement process.
The move also welcomes bids from the private and public sector companies to engage in inter-state power transmissions projects. The DEEP e-Bidding portal allows a time period of 1-5 years for purchasing power. Earlier this time period extended only from one day to one year. However, this time the facility has been prolonged for long-term power purchase beyond five years. The primary reason as to why the time period stands extended from 1-5 years is because the complete bidding process and cost of procuring power is expected to be cut down substantially, which may significantly benefit the end consumer.
To facilitate the process, and make the tariff based reverse auction a successful endeavor, a mobile application technology was developed in the name of “TARANG”. It will be based on the lines of coal sector for enabling better price discovery for the new projects.
The App Tarang (Transmission App for Real-Time Monitoring and Growth), is a powerful weapon that assists in the tracking of upcoming new transmission projects and efficiently monitors the progress and growth of Intra and Inter States Transmission Systems spread across the nation. It is pioneered through a regulated and defined tariff mechanism as well as a Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Route. The app also provides information on transmission projects that are delayed / not completed on time and also highlights the factors that are causing a hindrance in their completion.
Thus, on the whole, the process is a much sorted one, which aims at ensuring free flow in the system through the tools of accountability and transparency. Molded in a very pragmatic and analytical approach, it focuses towards cutting down power costs significantly and boosting the confidence of investors and believes that the move will definitely yield a positive long term impact on the sector.
