NEW DELHI, June 8: State electricity boards (SEBs) collectively owed over Rs 7,221 crore to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) till April end this year, Power Minister P R Kumaramangalam informed the Lok Sabha today.The prime defaulter states are Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, the minister said in a written answer.Regarding Enron, he said the US-based multinational corporation has sent a proposal to set up power plants to generate electricity upto 10,000 mega watts in the country. The locations of the gas fired power plants have not yet been finalised.The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has accorded techno-economic clearance to 41 proposals for setting up power projects in the private sector having a total installed capacity of 20097.58 mega watts, he said. As many as 17 of the thermal projects cleared are in Western region, 13 in Southern region and three each in Northern and Eastern regions. The government is also monitoring 126 proposals forsetting up of power projects in the private sector, he added.The World Bank has indicated its willingness to provide about 1 billion dollar to Andhra Pradesh for power development of transmission and distribution system, Kumaramangalam said.The quantum of power losses due to transmission and distribution was 22.27 per cent in the country. Higher budgetary support has been provided in the current fiscal year to power PSUs, he said.
