Power crisis acute, state faces power cut

With demand for power growing in the state, both from the domestic and industrial consumers and generation remaining more or less fixed, the state is now feeling the pinch of severe power shortage.

Lack of capacity addition during the last decade and in-ordinate delay in setting up of 3rd and 4th units of Orissa Power Generation Corporation (OPGC)’s Ib Thermal Power Station has added to the woes of the state government.

The government’s problem is further compounded by low generation from hydel projects, which have substantial share in the state’s power availability basket, due to dwindling water level in all the reservoirs following an erratic monsoon.

There is also no possibility of ramping up the power output capacity in the state in near future as the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), who signed MoU with the state government for projects with combined generation capacity of over 27,000 Mw, have not made desired progress with respect to their ventures.

In this backdrop, the government is in the process of evolving a strategy to minimise the inconvenience that may be caused to the consumers due to possible power cut in the state.

While the Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has invited public comment on the power regulations in view of the projected deficit of 500 Mw to 600 Mw, the state is in the process of working out the actual shortage that is likely to arise in future. It is also exploring various options to tackle the situation.

The power generation situation in the state was reviewed in a high level meeting chaired by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik recently.

Talking to the media after the meeting, state energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said, it has been decided that Gridco will prepare a plan to minimise power shedding in the state. The government will take a view after the plan is prepared.

Stating that steps will be taken for expediting proposals of NTPC and OPGC expansion, the minister said, the issues causing the delay in the OPGC expansion will be resolved soon.

Energy secretary P K Jena said, the state will have 2000 million unit less generation from hydro sources, which will be about 10 percent of the total requirement. Various options are being explored for meeting the deficit.

“Government is trying to procure power from different sources to minimise the difficulties of the people. The distribution companies and Gridco will share information with the public before any power cut is effected”, he added.

Sources said, the non-peak average demand for power in the state is about 2200 Mw at present which is projected to increase to 3000 Mw in summer. The government is keen on reduce the duration of power cut in the summer.

The commissioning of the first unit (600 Mw ) of Sterlite Energy and 300 Mw unit by Bhushan Power is expected to come as a breather for the state.