Jharkhand fails to install new power plants in ten years

Power is an important sector for industries. In the past 10 years, not a single state-run power plant could come up in Jharkhand since the state’s creation in 2000.

Jharkhand had been depending much on private players with signing of MoUs, holding an idea that the proposed private-run power plants would meet the state’s power shortage by producing of over 5,000 MW of electricity from which 25 per cent would be enough for future requirement of the state.

However, the idea of the state was not fulfilled because private players signed MoUs with the state could not set up plants as yet as the state could not allot land, water and infrastructures according to terms and conditions of the MoUs. The state’s two power utilities - Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) and Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Limited (TVNL) have total installed capacity of 1,320 MW.at the beginning of 2005-06 which remained the same till the date.

However, no capacity addition was made till date though the government of India had allocated six coal blocks to JSEB and TVNL for setting up power plants in the state The coal blocks were not developed as per milestones set by the Centre.

According to official figure against power requirement of 780 MW in the state during 2009-10, the actual generation in the state had been 336 MW. Consequently, the state is now fully dependent on the supply of power from the Central pool comprising Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and National Thermal Corporation (NTPC).