Builders across Haryana to pay more for power substations

Pradeep Sharma

Chandigarh, October 9

Builders across Haryana will have to pay through their nose by way of hefty charges —ranging from Rs 1.70 crore to whopping Rs 166 crore — for the installation of electricity substations in their respective colonies.

The external electrical system development charges (EESDC), which have been introduced by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), will be collected by the power distribution companies (discoms) from the builders in lieu of building electrical substation.These charges will be collected from the builders for the requirement of 33 kilovolt (KV) and above voltage level.

Giving details of the charges to be paid by the builders, an order of the HERC said for the load from 5 megavolt amperes (MVA) to 25 MVA, the rate would be Rs 34 lakh per MVA. Similarly, for electricity load from 5-75 MVA, the rate would Rs 34 lakh per MVA.

For the installation of a substation with a load of 25-100 MVA, the rate has been fixed as 56 lakh per MVA. The rates for the substations in the range of 100-320 MVA will be Rs 52 lakh for every MVA.

The colonisers will have to deposit 50 per cent of the total EESDC before the grant of a licence for the colony. The balance of the EESDC will have to be deposited within three years.

Since the land is to be provided by the builder for a substation, the cost of the land has not been considered in the calculation. The builders will have to transfer the land ranging from 2,000 square metres to 6.61 acres to the Power Department depending on the size of the substation. Besides, the Power Department will also get the ‘right of way’ for the electricity lines.

The order made it clear that no service charges would be levied on power consumers in the area where EESDC had already been recovered.

In a bid to check illegal power connections, now no new connection can be released within the colonies of any builder until the land required for the installation of the substation is handed over to the power utility companies.