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| MP to face grave power shortage |
| Shashikant Trivedi / New Delhi/ Bhopal Oct 02, 2009, 00:31 IST |
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Sharp decline in hydropower generation, renovation and modernisation of old thermal power units and a cap on power purchase owing to paucity of funds will widen the demand supply gap in the rabi season in Madhya Pradesh.
The state’s energy department has officially admitted that the gap will be more than 1,000 Mw in the coming rabi months but sources said the gap would go up more than 1,500 Mw and wide areas of the state would plunge in darkness.
The non-availability of funds and costly power at Rs 8 per unit will further push the state to darkness.
“The demand supply gap is 1,000 Mw as on date, the reservoirs of hydropower projects have not attained the generation level due to poor rainfall and the finance department has restricted power purchase from other states on account of poor financial condition,” a senior government official told Business Standard.
The 1,000-Mw Indira Sagar reservoir is 2.7 mt below the generation level of 260 mt and is generating 624 Mw (September 29), 520-Mw Omkareshwar is generating 251-Mw power as the reservoir is much below the requisite 189 mt level.
Similarly, Pench hydel project reservoir is 3 mt below the level, Bansagar is 11 mt below the level. The Gandhi Sagar project reservoir is 39 ft below the generating level. Against the peak demand of 6,200 Mw, the state supplied 4,888 (unrestricted) Mw on Tuesday.
Of this, the thermal power generation stood at 2,772 Mw and hydel at 915 Mw, while central share, NTPC and other source fed the remaining 2,204 Mw. Thus, the power shortage has gone up more than 1,200 Mw.
“The October supply will be affected if the mercury soars,” said the official. At present, power supply in rural areas is hardly for 3-4 hours.
Officially, the metros of the state are receiving 22-hour power supply, district headquarters 19 hours, tehsil headquarters 12 hours, rural areas four hours on three phase, and five hours on single phase.
As many as 65 private companies queued up in the state to venture into the sector but red-tapism, non availability of land and lukewarm response from officials at site level have delayed a number of power projects even after four years of BJP’s promise to make the state a power hub.
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