Tag: West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd

Investments pour in at Digha Business Conclave

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The first day of the two-day Bengal Business Conclave at Digha started on a decidedly positive note, as it witnessed a number of investment announcements from industrialists in several sectors.

Investments in a nutshell:
• Eugene Gan, world CEO of the Singapore-based Changi Airport, announced an affordable housing project for the economically weaker sections and the lower income group at Andal near Durgapur.
• InfraCo Asia will make the investment, with the aim towards improvement in the life of people in and around the Andal Airport.
• Umesh Chowdhary, managing director of Titagarh Wagons announced setting up of an aluminum-bodied Metro coach factory at Uttarpara in Hooghly, which will be employing 1,000 people. The investment will be Rs 2,500 crore (every year) for the next five years.
• Harshvardhan Neotia, chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group, announced setting up of a five-star hotel in Digha, with 100 rooms and facilities of banquet hall, swimming pool, spa etc. It will be named Sagar Kutir and will have 60 rooms to start with.
• The ITC group, that already has an investment of Rs 4,000 crore in the state, will invest another Rs 1,700 crore for a personal care manufacturing facility.
• Amazon Internet Service will collaborate with the MSME department for a new project.
• Sanjay Budhia, managing director of Patton Group will be investing for an international standard CBSE school in the state.

MoUs signed at the event

• Between West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd and KFW Development Bank of Germany for setting up a 150 megawatt solar power plant, with an investment of Rs 750 crore.
• A Dutch consortium signed an MoU with Calcutta Leather Complex Tanners’ Association, on conversion of solid waste to value added products at Bantala Leather Complex.

Laying of foundation stones at Bengal Business Conclave for upcoming projects:

  1. Apparel hub at Metiabruz: It will have 150 manufacturing units, 300 display centres for bigger enterprises and most interestingly 1,000 trading hubs. It will employ 16,000 people directly or indirectly.
  2. Common facility centre for

 

  • Bell brass metal cluster

 

  • Steel fabrication cluster at Paschim Medinipur. It will provide advanced cutting, welding facility, electroplating, testing facility and the power coating facility.
  • Shellac cluster at Jhalda, Purulia.

Inauguration of completed projects:

  1. Common production centre for
  • Kantha stitch artisans at Bhedia, Purba Bardhaman. Hundreds of women will be working there.
  • Mrit-Shilpi artisans at Birnagar, Nadia. It will have modern facilities for burning clay, drying machine.
  • Stone carving artisans at Susunia, Bankura . It will generate 7,000 jobs.
  1. Biswa Khudra Bazar at Bolpur: It will have 50 stalls. It will provide employment to at least 2,000 artisans. It will have mela ground, business hub etc.
  2. Regional Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council at Siliguri
  3. MoU signed between Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department (MSME) to promote exports

Rs 4000 crore allotted for revamping Bengal power infrastructure

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The West Bengal Government has taken up a plan to revamp the state’s power infrastructure at an investment of Rs 4,000 crore over the next two years, State Power Minister Manish Gupta said on Wednesday.

West Bengal Power Development Corporation will appoint a mine developer and operator to start mining in five coal blocks, the Power Minister said while placing the power budget in the assembly.

State to start mining coal

The Centre allotted to WBPDCLsix coal blocks, including Tara (East & West), Barjora (North), Barjora, Gangaramchak, Gangaramchak-Bhadulia, Pachwara (North) and Kasta (East). Apart from this, the Deocha Pachami Deawanganj-Harisingha coal block has been allotted jointly to six states, including Bengal.

The minister said WBPDCL would receive 584 million tonnes of coals from the Deocha Pachami Deawanganj-Harisingha block. He also said that coal supply was not a cause of concern for the state government. “WBPDCL has a record coal stock of 9.29 lakh metric tonnes as on March 31, 2015”, said the minister.

Alternative sources of power

The department of Power and Non-Conventional Energy Sources is drawing up a draft document on Grid-connected Rooftop Solar Policy, which would be extended throughout the state in a phased manner, the Minister told the Assembly. The rooftop solar photovoltaic policy for the state was likely to be announced very shortly after former approval of the state cabinet, the Minister said.

The West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency already took up a project for installation of 10 kWp rooftop grid connected PV power plant with net metering arrangement at 100 government and government-aided schools statewide with 100 per cent funding from the state budget, he said.

The project would be extended to 500 schools altogether in phases, the minister said replying to a supplementary. The Minister further said that the WBREDA was also implementing an off-grid school electrification programme for another 100 schools in the Sundarbans.

Boost to power sector

The state government has also planned to set up a photovoltaic power plant to the proposed 1000MW Turga Pumped Storage in Ayodhya Hills in Purulia. “The project has got an in-principle approval from Centre,” the Minister said.

Steps have also been taken to upgrade various low voltage areas into high voltage ones, the Minister said. He said that in the last four years the power sector had witnessed improvement, thanks to several development schemes undertaken by his department.

The distribution infrastructure of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited had much improved in the last four years with the installation of 82 new 33/11KV sub-stations, besides HT line and Distribution Transformers (DTRs) etc, he said.

Starting from non-conventional energy resources, the state has already taken many projects to boost rural electrification and hydro-electric power generation programmes, the Minister said.

Bengal achieves 95% rural electrification

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In May 2011 after Ms Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of West Bengal, she vowed to electrify each and every village in the State. As per West Bengal’s nodal distribution agency, West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, in April 2011 the total no. of subscribers was 88 lakh which has now reached over one crore 48 lakh.

Electrification has reached to 38 lakh new subscribers in last 20 months. A few years ago, electrification depth was quite low in Bengal in comparison to other states of the country.

This increase is due to the drive taken by the West Bengal Government to reach out to the farthest corners in the remotest villages of the state.

As per the distribution company 95% of electrification has been completed in the state and by June next year, 100% will be done.  The main hurdle faced was implementation of infrastructure as many villagers had objection of electric poles being implanted on their land but through continuous dialogue this issue has been solved. Now, there is no village in the state where electrification has not reached.