Himachal facility generating power costlier than market rate: CAG

A state-run hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh, being funded by the Asian Development Bank, which was partially commissioned last year after cost overruns and delays, is generating power much costlier than the market rate, report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said. With this, the per unit generation cost of Stage-I, which is 65 MW, had increased against the prevailing rate. The Stage II and III of the project are scheduled to completed in January 2021. The CAG says the Asian Development Bank loan received through the Government of India in the shape of 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan was converted into 100 per cent loan by the state, placing an extra cost burden. The auditor picks holes in the company's failure to sell certified emission reductions or carbon credits.