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Union Territory of Puducherry has proposed to undertake widespread reforms in its power sector, including the restructuring of its electricity department into a corporate entity.Mr D Ravi executive engineer of Puducherry Electricity Department, who is also part of the Reforms Project Management Cell said that "Expressions of interest are currently being sought from consultants to advise the department on the matter. The consultant's role would be, among other things, to undertake a comprehensive study on the current performance of the power sector in the union territory. It has envisioned having the corporate avatar of the electricity department by June 2009."Mr Ravi said that Puducherry Power Corporation Ltd was the only administration owned power generation company catering to the Karaikal region in Tamil Nadu. Puducherry is spread over 4 regions namely Puducherry and Karaikal in Tamil Nadu, Mahe in Kerala and Yanam in Andhra Pradesh. The peak demand for power in the Puducherry and Karaikal regions is an estimated 290 MW which is under fulfilled to the extent of 30% to 40%.
As per report, the two regions have a population of nearly 1 million people and despite the power shortfall have enjoyed 100% electrification since 1979. Most of the power demand is met by the Central government owned power companies like Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, while most of the transmission infrastructure is owned by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. Power requirement in the Mahe region is met by Kerala State Electricity Board.
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Puducherry Power Corporation in operation since 2001 manages a 32.5 MW combined cycle gas fired power plant at TR Pattinam, catering only to the Karaikal region.
PPCL also has plans to set up a 250 MW gas based power plant in the Yanam region in Andhra Pradesh where gas could be sourced from the Krishna to Godavari basin.
