World Bank agrees to give loan of Rs 2200 cr for JPSIP

The loan will help Jharkhand Power System Improvement Project (JPSIP) to provide reliable, quality & affordable 24x7 electricity to Jharkhand's citizens

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New Delhi: The Government of India, the Government of Jharkhand and the World Bank signed an Rs. 2200Cr Loan Agreement for Jharkhand Power System Improvement Project (JPSIP) here in the capital on Tuesday. The project is supposed to provide reliable, quality, and affordable 24×7 electricity to the citizens of Jharkhand. The Jharkhand Power System Improvement Project will help build new power transmission infrastructure, as well as put in place systems to improve the technical efficiency and commercial performance of the state power sector utilities. The Project will help bring in modern technology solutions such as automated sub-stations, and network analysis and planning tools to provide reliable power supply and enhance customer satisfaction.

Developing institutional capacities of State-owned power companies

While a significant portion of the proposed investments are aimed at improving power transmission infrastructure, the Project will also focus on developing institutional capacities of State-owned power transmission and distribution companies and improving their operational performance.

"Implementing such a large program and improving the financial health of the sector, requires deeper institutional development of its power transmission & distribution utilities. Hence, one of the key elements of the current project will be to support institutional strengthening of the State-owned utilities in the areas of procurement, contract implementation, financial management, and commercial operations among others,"

The Project is part of the government's Power for All program launched in 2014. The plan envisages addition of over 4.5 GW generation capacities by 2022 (including a significant share of 1.5 GW from solar energy), through a mix of Private and Public-sector investments.

More than 80% of all citizens in Jharkhand have access to electricity, claims govt.

A press release offered by PIB on this occasion said "as per data from the Jharkhand Distribution Company more than 80 percent of all citizens in the State have access to electricity. However, the State will have to continue to work towards providing reliable 24×7 power for all its consumers. The Per Capita Consumption of electricity in Jharkhand at 552 kWh at the end of FY16 is roughly half of the national average. Improved availability of power in the region from plants owned by the Central Government and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) has helped the State achieve lower demand-supply deficits in recent years". Energy Specialist and World Bank's Task Team Leader for this project Mr Amol Gupta said "Implementing such a large program and improving the financial health of the sector, requires deeper institutional development of its power transmission & distribution utilities. Hence, one of the key elements of the current project will be to support institutional strengthening of the State-owned utilities in the areas of procurement, contract implementation, financial management, and commercial operations among others."

Some of the major components of the project include the construction of new substations and transmission lines, primarily at 132kV voltage level; provide support to the Jharkhand Urja Sancharan Nigam Limited (JUSNL) in setting-up systems for strengthening the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) operations including financing software solutions for improving scheduling and dispatch functions. This will help integrate renewable energy in the state grid.