Calcutta, Nov. 7: The new power map is official now. Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), the country’s largest government-owned power utility, is going to set up three new thermal power plants and four new generating units at its existing stations, all of which are designed to start generating power in the next nine years by 2012.

The power bounty, estimated to cost Rs 17,000 crore, will add 2,780 MW generating capacity to the national grid.

Jharkhand is going to benefit the most, cornering nearly 60 per cent of the investment as virtually all the new units, barring the ones at Mejia and Durgapur (both in West Bengal), are going to be located in the state, namely at DVC’s existing plants in Bokaro and Chandrapura. The three new plants will come up at Koderma, Ramgarh and Maithan.

Coal-based units are turning out to be more cost-effective, explained a DVC official here. As competition was forcing power utilities to cut down on the production cost, all the new power stations will be close to the coal “pit-heads”.

DVC foresees stiff competition at its doorstep in the next five years. Both Tata Power and Reliance are said to be weighing the pros and cons of pitching in with the Electricity Act 2003 laying the field open for private parties to generate and sell power through the national grid.

“It is true that Jharkhand will be able to access more power from the new plants as we will be morally-bound to meet the local requirement. But the prime consideration is cost. We want to cut generation cost as much as possible to be in the business now that the government has opened up the sector,” said a senior Calcutta-based official.

Under the new power Act, consumers can purchase power from any party depending on the tariff and the transmission quality and “any generating company may establish, operate and maintain generation stations without obtaining a license under this Act, if it complies with the technical standards relating to grid connectivity…”

The private parties are reaping full benefits of the norms. Tata Power, which already has a thermal; power utility at Jojobera in Jamshedpur, is venturing into the solar sector to light up villages at a pittance and helping local industries set up captive plants on a “build, own, operate” basis. Traditionally, industries are the bulk buyers of DVC power. Reliance, which is targeting control over a generation capacity of 10,000 MW by 2007 and already has five independent plants is also looking eastwards.

“It is a matter of survival. The new plants are expected to cut generation cost by half,” the official said. In 2001, it cost DVC Rs 4 crore to generate 1 MW of power. The “pit-head” plants will offset transportation cost and water in all the identified sites is available within a distance of 10 km. Labour cost will be drastically slashed as “modernisation will bring in largescale automation”.

Besides, the corporation also plans to set up a new 220-km double circuit line and a 132-kv single circuit line to strengthen transmission and renovate the existing network.