BEST seeks MERC probe into Tata Power unit's failure

Wants MERC to impose heavy penalty on the company for imposing load shedding

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST), which is an undertaking of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, will today approach the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) with a plea to conduct a thorough inquiry into the tripping of Tata Power's unit 5 which led to power outages in its area of distribution. 

 

BEST will also appeal to MERC to impose heavy penalty on Tata Power for carrying out load shedding in its distribution area.

 

BEST general manager OP Gupta said, "BEST is distribution licensee and procures power from Tata Power. There should not be load shedding due to gap between contracted power and demand. Whatever load shedding was conducted by Tata Power after the tripping of unit 5 on Tuesday was totally unwarranted and unethical. BEST will send a communication today to MERC seeking an inquiry into the entire matter." 

 

Gupta informed that BEST's peak demand and contracted demand on Tuesday after the tripping of unit 5 was 720 MW.

 

Meanwhile, a preliminary investigation by Tata Power revealed that 500 MW unit at its Trombay plant tripped due to mechanical fault. 

 

The company official, who did not want to be named, told Business Standard, "A detailed probe will also be carried out by a team of senior engineers into Tuesday's tripping of unit 5 of Trombay plant for internal purposes." 

 

Tata Power in a release said that while the Unit-5 restoration work is still under progress, Unit-6 (also 500 MW), which was on cold stand-by has been synchronised and is generating. There has been no load shedding after about 9 pm on Tuesday. 

 

"While the power was available in neighbouring areas of Maharashtra, due to overloading of the state transmission network, the distribution companies were not able to import power for Mumbai. The distribution companies did a rotational load shedding in their respective areas of about 200-300 MW during 9.45 am to 9 pm. The Mumbai load has been fully restored and power normalised fully," the company added.