Power producers National Thermal Power Corporation and National Hydel Power Corporation, power trader Power Trading Corporation and the state electricity boards of Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal are among the utilities that have evinced interest in supplying power to the Reliance-controlled BSES Ltd.
BSES had invited responses from various utilities having surplus power to cater to demand in the Mumbai area.
The company planned to source around 600 MW of additional power and it had received expressions of interest from over 50 power utilities, sources said.
At present, BSES meets its peak demand of 1,150 MW through its own 500 MW thermal generating station in Dahanu. Around 600 MW is purchased by the company from Tata Power.
The company is the distribution licencee for supplying power to the suburban areas of Mumbai and caters to about 2.23 million consumers at present.
The need for extra power also comes in the wake of BSES having applied to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission for supplying power to five new distribution zones -- Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Aurangabad and Nashik.
BSES was targeting around 2 million customers in these six new areas, which were primarily urban and industrial hubs, sources said.
At present, the south Mumbai area is being serviced by the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking, while the Maharashtra State Electricity Board supplies power to the other five circles -- Vashi and Bhandup circles, Nagpur zone, Pune zone, Aurangabad circle and the Nashik division -- for which BSES has applied for a licence.
With a second distribution licence in the BEST area, BSES can gain access to BEST's consumer base of around 850,000 people in south Mumbai.
BSES would, however, have to set up its own parallel network in the BEST area since the new Electricity Act, 2003, does not allow any utility to supply electricity where a local body (BEST is an independent body under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) is the sole power supplier.
BSES has put in two separate applications before the regulator for determination of transmission charges for accessing MSEB and Tata Power Company's lines for transportation of power to the new areas it proposes to take over.
Power purchase