New Delhi: The central government has launched a High Price Day Ahead Market and Surplus Power Portal (PUShP), an initiative to ensure greater availability of power during the peak demand season, an official statement said on Friday.
The portal was launched by Union Power Minister R K Singh at a virtual function here on Thursday.
According to Singh, the HP—DAM was part of the overall strategy to ensure that all available power capacity is utilized for supply the power to consumers.
Explaining the operation of the HP-DAM, Singh said nobody would be allowed to charge exorbitant rates.
The Union Minister said only those generating capacities which have cost of producing power of more than Rs 12 per unit would be allowed to operate in HP-DAM.
If the cost of production is less than Rs 12, the generators will have to offer power in the Power Exchange’s Integrated Day Ahead Market (I-DAM) only with a ceiling price of Rs12, he said.
He asked CEA and Grid Controller to ensure that prices are reasonable in the HP-DAM and take necessary action to ensure that no power producers charges exorbitant prices, which are much than the cost of production.
Last year the Ministry of Power after taking note of the fact that on some days the prices in the electricity exchange had gone upto Rs 20, had given directions to the CERC to put a price cap of Rs12 on the exchange, so that there is no profiteering.
The cap was imposed from 01.04.2022 in Day Ahead Market and Real Time Market, and further in all segments from 06.05.2022.
The move had rationalized the price for buyers.
This year it is expected that the demand will be much higher than last year therefore, the gas-based plants and the imported coal-based plants will need to be scheduled and that is why a separate segment has been carved out for those generation systems where the cost of generating power may cross Rs 12, the statement said.
